


My Dragonfire Heart

by OfStarsAndFireflies



Series: Dragonfire [1]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Alternate Universe - Royalty, Bottom Tony Stark, Boys In Love, Boys Kissing, Dragons turned human, First Kiss, First Time, Friends to Lovers, Growing Up Together, Jealous Steve Rogers, M/M, Not Steve Rogers Friendly, Protective Stephen, Top Stephen Strange
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-14
Updated: 2019-11-09
Packaged: 2020-05-07 14:22:13
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 38,204
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19211212
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OfStarsAndFireflies/pseuds/OfStarsAndFireflies
Summary: Anthony Stark is a prince who was given life by the flames of a dragon who was Stephen’s father.Raised together, their relationship is unbreakable, no matter who tries to take the prince away from him.





	1. Chapter 1

"Tell us the story!" 

Howard looked down at his son, that blue light in his chest dulled down a little by his bed clothes.   
Beside him sat the boy with the same colour eyes as that light. 

He smiled at them before beginning his tale. 

"A long time ago, Dragons ruled these lands. And ever since they have ruled, Man would hunt them down for their scales, for their wealth, or even for sport.   
And the Dragons soon fought back.   
A Dragon's greatest weapon is their fire breath; hot enough to melt a man in his armour without marking it.   
And the most powerful of Dragons soon came to the outskirts of our kingdom.   
The Crystal Dragon.   
We left him be, not wanting to face his fury, and in turn he wouldn't harm any of my subjects while he hunted.   
And some years after he came, you were born."

His son's brown eyes watched him intently. 

"And you didn't make a sound upon arriving in this earth.   
You were still.   
It was as if when your mother's heart stopped beating she took yours with her.   
The doctors tried to revive you, but you wouldn't breathe.   
So I wrapped you in the blanket your mother had made for you, took you in one hand and a horse's reins in the other, and sped to the dragon."

Howard scooped up a toy monkey from a shelf as he rode an imaginary horse around the boy's room, making them giggle as they watched him. 

"I sped past my subjects and empty streets, I flew down gullys and climbed up steep hills, and by the sun's first rays I reached where the Dragon had made its home."

He stopped galloping. 

"I rode my horse right into his cave, and came face to face with the Crystal Dragon. I held you out in front of him and begged him: "Please." I said,” Howard holding the monkey out before him to the large rideable toy horse, “Please grant my son life. He is new to this world and has yet to experience its wonders. My wife and I tried so hard to have a child, and now she is gone too. Please, from one king to another, please."

"What did he do then?" Asked the boy with blue eyes, leaning in a little more. 

"The king of Dragons regarded me, a rumble in his throat. And then he spoke, "I will grant you your wish, king of this small part of earth. You and your people have treated me with respect and have left me to my life here. I will give your son the life he deserves, if you return the favour." And from his belly, he pulled a small human child. "I have used what little of my magic remains to give my son this form. Bring him up in your castle with your son and he will serve the future king well."

Howard smiled as the two boys looked at each other with wide grins. 

"I promise!" I told him, "I swear to you your son will be safe in my care!"  
"Then run your hand upon my scales until you leave your blood, and I will give you back your son."  
And I do so."

Howard showed the boys the long scar upon his palm which glistened like it had tiny specks of glass within it, "And when I did, he handed me his son, and took mine in his large dragon's paw. He looked down at you, a loud rumble like thunder echoing around us, and then he opened his massive jaws, and blue flames erupted from his mouth into yours."

Both the boys’ eyes were wide. 

"That fire, which had killed so many and destroyed so much, was filling your little body and making it glow. I could see all your organs through your skin, and I watched your heart as it began to beat.   
The dragon stopped blowing his fire, and held your wiggling, crying body out to me.   
I took you, and you opened your eyes. Brown like your mothers.   
I could not thank him enough for what he had done.   
I asked the Crystal Dragon what his son’s name was, but he only told me that he would need a human name.   
So I brought you both back to this castle, and have told you this story every night for the past 10 years."

"His name is Stephen now!" His son chirped, "Can't you add that part to the story?"

Howard thought for a moment before smiling, "and at the age of 6, the Prince, Young Anthony Stark, found a book about a Dragon Prince named Stephen, yelled it at his young friend, and finally got a nod of approval after many failed attempts at trying to pick a name to suit him."

The boys laughed. 

Howard scooped them into his arms, hugging them goodnight as he laid them down in the bed they shared and dropped the toy monkey between them. 

“Now sleep, and dream, and tomorrow I shall tell you the story once more if you so desire it.”

The boys smiled up at him and he ran his hand through Anthony’s brown hair and Stephen’s black before leaving the room. 

He was grateful everyday for what the Crystal Dragon had done for him, and for entrusting his own son in his care. 

He moved quickly through the castle, making his way to the Sorcerer’s Tower and letting himself in. 

“Ah. Sire.” His Sorcerer, Wong, bowed to him as he entered. 

Wong’s magic allowed him to see into the future, to see the branches splitting off from their timeline and from large decisions made in life.   
He had asked Wong to look into the future and see who his son would marry so he could begin the preparations. 

“Have you found them yet?”

Wong nodded, “I have found them indeed...However...”

The King stopped his intake for his sigh of relief.   
What had his sorcerer seen? 

Wong appeared to be deliberating what words he should speak. 

“There are many branches leading to and from each of the suitors you are considering and even some you have not considered.” Wong waved his arm through the air, conjuring a glowing spider’s web. 

This was his son, and all the paths he had yet to take.   
Howard gazed up at them.   
Most of them seemed to go in the same direction, all joining to a single ball of light where only two strands emerged.

But some didn’t lead anywhere. 

Many extended away from the light and hung loosely in the air. 

“What should I do?” He asked, trying to focus on the ball of light.   
This here, this right here, was his son’s future. It was the only one that had a future which meant there was only one person in the entirety of the world for his son. 

“You will need to choose what you want most for the prince, and whatever you choose, indeed, whomever you choose, will carry us along one of the many paths you see before you.”

Howard closed his eyes and thought of his son, of his smile, and a smile of his own spread on his cracked lips.   
He never wanted his son to stop smiling. 

“Happiness. No matter what future may be in store for him, I want Anthony to be happy.”

One of the strands of the spider web glowed brilliantly.   
One leading to the ball of the light. 

“A wise desicion, my king.” Wong bowed. 

Howard felt relief flood his being, making his knees weak, “Now what?”  
“Now, we wait.”  
“For what?”  
“For however long it takes.”  
“However long what takes?”

Wong pointed to a small bead of light, the first of a couple before the larger ball, “This right here.”

Howard moved in closer to the bead, hoping it would give him some insight as to what it entailed. 

“How far away is this?”  
“Years by the looks of it.”

“Years?” Howard turned to Wong once more, “Other kingdoms have already proposed to arrange a marriage! You know the King of Azule is one of them!”

“I do and you know my thoughts on such a matter.”

“Every other kingdom hardly ever waits this long! And you expect them to wait even longer? Wouldn’t it be better to bring the suitor here and allow Anthony to get to know them?”

“His life is about to get a lot more busier what with all his studies and training. If you bring a suitor in now, I can tell you it will only result in a strained relationship between you and the suitor’s father, your kingdom and the suitor’s kingdom, Prince Anthony and his suitor, and you and your son. The suitors and all the chaos they bring can wait. And if you truly want your son to be happy, you must wait too. Trust me with this.”

Howard sighed before nodding, “You have never steered me wrong once. So I will trust you.”

Wong bowed his head, “Thank you, my king.”

A thought occurred to him then as he regarded his friend. 

“Can you see into Stephen’s future?”  
“I can.”  
“What do you see?”  
“He will aid his King far better than I ever could.”  
“You plan to train him as a sorcerer then?”  
“He already has power, he just needs to learn how best to utilise it.”

Howard nodded in agreement, “They won’t like being split from one another, they’ve been joined at the hip for so long.”

“It is for the best.”

Howard nodded as he rubbed at his prickling eyes. It must be getting late. 

“I will see you in the morning Wong.”   
“Oh. One more thing.”

Howard stopped descending the stairs, waiting for Wong to continue. 

“Remember your words.”

Confused, Howard turned to his Sorcerer. 

“Should a day come when your son reminds you of them, remember the words you spoke and remember them well.”

~.~

“Go to sleep Prince Anthony.” Stephen’s voice deadpanned through the moonlit room. 

“But I’m not sleepy!”

Stephen cracked an eye open to be met with giant shining brown ones.   
“What do you suggest I do to make you so then?”

“Tell me a story!”  
“Another one?”  
“One about Dragons!”  
“I think I have told you all the stories I know.”

The prince pouted. 

“Maybe one will come to me tomorrow...after you sleep.”  
“What’s your Dragon name?”  
“No matter how many times you ask I won’t tell you.”  
“Why did you like the name Stephen?”

“Really?” Stephen was getting agitated from the child’s questions.  
In all his two hundred years of life he had yet to meet anyone as infuriating and as precious to him as this boy. 

“I wish I could choose a different name.”

Stephen knew Prince Anthony had always hated his name due to the fact it was the name that once belonged to the kingdom’s greatest King, and the prince had felt the weight of that name every day for his young life. 

Today had been exceptionally worse as, during a lesson of the Kings of the past, the tutor had gone on and on about King Anthony and all the good deeds he had accomplished and how the kingdom was waiting for their prince to do much better. 

Stephen pulled his young friend closer to him so he could wrap his arms around the boy, trying to give some comfort. 

And then, an idea popped into his head. 

“How about we choose a name for you? Only I get to say it though, I don’t think your father-“

“Really?!” Anthony’s eyes lit up with excitement. 

“Only if you go to sleep after we decide on it.”  
“It took 2 years to come up with yours!”  
“I’ve been thinking about one for you for a while now, It’s just a shortened version of your name but-“  
“Tell me!”  
“Tony.”

The prince blinked. 

Stephen couldn’t tell if he liked the name or not. 

“Toe knee...”  
“Don’t draw it out so much.”

Another blink, and slight confusion this time as the boy chewed on the name. 

“I can think of something else if you like, it’s just a shortened version of the name you dislike anyway.”  
“No!”  
He was smiling, “I like it! Prince Tony!”  
“Just Tony. Your father won’t be too happy if he hears people call you anything else but the name he’s given you.”  
“Just Tony then!”

Stephen grinned, pulling him back into his arms, “Then goodnight, Tony.”

“Goodnight Stephen.” Tony yawned back, snuggling against him. 

As the prince slept in his arms, Stephen remained awake, his senses on high alert. 

No matter what his form may suggest, he was born a dragon and as such didn’t need to sleep as often as humans did. 

He spent the nights awake, ready to tear into anyone who dare disturb the prince’s slumber and reliving the memories of their adventures together; like the time they had snuck into the kitchens to steal the fresh batch of cookies, or when Tony had learnt to read a book by himself and insisted he read the entire thing out loud to Stephen seven or eight times. 

But his favourite memory of all was a rather recent one from last year. 

Tony had found out he was to get married to someone he didn’t even know and had run to Stephen in tears. 

At first he’d thought his friend had fallen and injured himself.   
When all he got was a series of hiccups and gibberish he couldn’t understand, he thought someone had placed a spell on him. 

Tony had calmed himself down a little to tell Stephen what had made him so upset before a fresh wave of tears overtook the small boy and he was a mess once more. 

Stephen held him, calmed him, asked him what he could do to make him better and Tony had begged him to run away with him. 

And they had. 

The castle gardens had been a vast wilderness to them, and they soon found themselves in an abandoned building filled with wild vegetables. 

Tony explained to him that this was their home now and Stephen could be the dragon that protected him from everyone, and Tony was the Prince who was given to him to protect, but everyone who heard their story thought the Prince was being held against his will and would try to steal him away and attack Stephen. 

Their lives together had been short lived when Wong had found them and brought them back to the castle. 

A sudden jolt against him ripped him from his memories. 

Tony’s hand was clenching painfully into his arm, his body shaking. 

Stephen rubbed a soothing hand into his back, feeling the body relax into him once more and he smiled at the boy in his arms, comforted by his slow breaths. 

He didn’t need to play pretend as the protective dragon of the prince. Not when he was his most greatest treasure.


	2. Chapter 2

King Howard deemed they have their own rooms a few months after that night, no matter how much his son begged him to reconsider. 

Stephen was taken to his new room in the Sorcerer’s Tower where he would also be trained by Wong and the whole day was spent trying to get back to Tony, wishing he had his old form and wings for the first time since becoming a human.  
Tony had made it to the door a couple of times before he would be promptly dragged back to his lesson, kicking and yelling for Stephen, which just made Wong’s task of calming the boy all the more difficult. 

With Stephen locked in the tower and Tony ending his lesson by effectively toppling a large bookcase over while climbing it in an attempt to escape and rescue his friend, the day carried on rather quietly. 

Tony shut himself in his room when he found the staircase to Wong’s tower guarded, and threw anything he could get his hands on at whoever entered.  
After a thick book had narrowly missed a servant’s head, Howard entered the chaos Anthony had turned his room into, a toy monkey hitting him in the face. 

“Anthony, you can’t act this way because Stephen won’t be staying in your room any more. You’ll still get to see him.”

Tony held up another toy as a threat when his father moved to him, tears glistening on his rosy cheeks. 

“You both have duties now that you’re getting older. You will be training to be a King and he will be training to be your Sorcerer. These are important lessons for your future.”

Tony didn’t say anything. 

He knew the lessons were important, albeit boring, but that didn’t explain why his father wouldn’t let Stephen stay with him in his room anymore.  
Tony’s anger died away as fresh tears poured down his face and he ran into his father’s open arms. 

Howard sighed as he held his son.  
He couldn’t bring himself to tell him that this was also a lesson he had to learn. 

 

Night came and while the castle slumbered peacefully, Stephen was pacing in his room, agitated without Tony near him.  
He hated this.  
He knew it was necessary and he knew it would be done to them sooner than later, but his bond with the prince ran far deeper than any human knew.  
What would happen when Tony had a nightmare and he wasn’t there to soothe him through it?  
Or Tony needed comfort from a hard day and Stephen was too busy training?  
Or when the one Tony would wed came into their lives and he wasn’t there to stop it from happening!

Stephen threw the chair sitting beside his window against the wall, effectively shattering it. 

He wouldn’t allow that to happen.  
He wasn’t some common animal they could lock up whenever they wanted him out of the way.  
He was a Dragon.  
He was the son of the Crystal Dragon.  
He was a mighty creature of rage and flame whose sole existence was to be feared by humans as he lay waste to their pitiful lands. 

Stephen stopped his pacing, sitting on his bed instead. 

Before all of this, before Tony and being turned into a human, he had been a creature of nightmares. He had been the embodiment of rage and fire and death.  
Him.  
And his brothers and sister.  
And as punishment for the ruin he had been a part of, the humans had hacked at his family until only his father and himself remained.  
And even through all of that, the one thing he remembered most about the humans who had seen him at his apex, was the fear shining in their eyes. 

And he didn’t think he could stand it if Tony looked at him the same way those other human faces had. 

He lay down, his arms stretched out in front of him where Tony would be, and closed his eyes to sleep. 

~.~

The years were passing them quite fast, but the boys were growing up much faster.  
Stephen had been using his magic to keep his body roughly the same age as Tony’s, and had made himself taller than the prince, which had irked him much to Stephen’s delight. 

Their free days now were more like a few hours they got to spend together, and one would often find Stephen reading while the prince napped against his shoulder, or find the two in a sparring session. 

But then there was the day of Tony’s birthday.  
The one full day and night out of the few in the year where they could spend time together and eat and drink as much as they wanted.  
With the added bonus of no lessons for the entire day, of course. 

Stephen didn’t remember his own birthday, Dragons never thought it cause to celebrate seeming how they lived for so long, but had taken the day Tony was born as his own birthday when he’d been asked by the youth.  
Birthdays were special to humans, it appeared, and there was no greater day special to Stephen then the one when he had met Tony.

And today was their eighteenth birthday. 

The day had begun with Tony bursting into his room, as he often did, and throwing his book out the window in an extreme accomplishment of getting Stephen to stop reading it. 

Stephen was then pushed and prodded out of the tower, Wong looking quite unimpressed at the two as the book Stephen had been reading dropped from a portal onto the table, along with a few fish and a gallon of water from the pond where it had apparently landed. 

He was taken to the dining room where King Howard wished them happy birthday, giving a gift to each of them before Tony pulled him out again, the sound of the king’s laughter ringing happily through the halls. 

“Tony, what has gotten into you?” Stephen finally asked, his arms pinned to his sides by the prince as he was marched out of the castle and towards a section of the gardens they used to play in as children. 

“I don’t want the food to spoil!”  
“What are you-“

Stephen’s words cut off as he spotted a picnic under the large oak tree he and Tony used to climb;  
There were platters of fruits and biscuits, sandwiches and small meat pies and some jugs of drink.  
In true Tony fashion he had gone overboard as there was way too much food for just the two of them to get through. 

Tony forced him to sit down on the blanket the food had been spread on before finally letting go of him. 

Stephen poured them each a drink and bit into a sandwhich as he watched Tony open the gift his father had given him. 

He could already tell it was a sword, but the level of detail that had gone into smithing it was extraordinary;  
There was a vine pattern weaved through the metal, and the hilt was gold with a topaz grain and a large ruby on the end.  
It came with a leather sheath which had the same vine pattern around the S for the prince’s family name and small orange and red beads sewn into it.  
Tony smiled at it, tying the sheath’s belt around his waist before promptly looking at Stephen and the gift he had been given. 

“Aren’t you going to open yours?”

Stephen smiled around his third sandwhich, pulling a small box from a pocket in his robes and tossing it to his friend “You first.”

Tony caught the box easily in one hand while he held a sandwhich of his own in his other, pouting slightly, “I left your gift in my room! Make up a portal so I can grab it.”

“I haven’t learnt portals yet.” Stephen managed to say with his mouth full. 

Tony rolled his eyes before opening the box and pulling out a round aquamarine crystal set on a simple gold brooch. 

A couple of weeks ago, they had gone to the market in town where there had been a small jewellery stall, and Tony’s eyes had lit up at the brooch.  
The salesman behind the stall had tried to interest the prince in far more detailed and expensive wears; one being a rather lovely golden crown with blue jewels on it and a golden chain, and another being a dragon guarding an egg. 

Tony had thanked the seller and left with nothing. 

When Stephen asked him why he liked that brooch most of all, a slight blush had crept upon his friend’s cheeks as he told the ground that it reminded him of Stephen’s eyes. 

Stephen had deserted Tony at a baked goods stall to quickly rush back and purchase the cheap little brooch with the little money he had. 

“It suits you.” Stephen smiled as he watched Tony fiddle with his gift until it was clasped proudly on his breast. He turned to his own gift, which was almost the same size and shape of a book, but much too light. 

Tony watched intently as Stephen lifted the lid to reveal a gold amulet shaped like an eye with strange markings on it. 

Underneath the “Necklace to go with your dress!” was a letter from King Howard and Wong, which stated this was a relic and was now being entrusted to him.  
His first relic.  
Stephen placed the amulet over his head and adjusted it slightly so it sat nicely in the middle of his chest. 

“What does it do?”

Stephen re read the letter but there hadn’t been any mention of the relic’s powers. 

“I’ll ask Wong tomorrow.”

They ate and drank their full, Tony discarding his apple core before standing and pulling his new sword from its sheath, “Wanna test out this new sword against your magic one? See which one is the better?”  
“You’re going to ruin it.”  
“You don’t know that.”

It was a rather hot day, and although Stephen would rather laze about in the shade, he nodded and conjured a sword out of his orange magic as Tony’s eyes lit up. 

The swords clashed and sparks flew around them.  
Stephen had made quick work of lesser weapons, so this sword had his respect for lasting the first blow.  
And his condolences. 

Again and again the swords struck, Tony stopping every now and then to check the sword for any damage Stephen’s might be leaving.  
Apart from a tinge of orange and a slight heat, the sword remained unmarked. 

Throwing caution out the window just like his book, the real battle begun between them. 

They stepped in time with one another, their weapons singing, and to anyone else it would look like a well  
choreographed dance. 

Tony’s training had paid off well, Stephen thought. His footwork and posture were much more acceptable now than it had been when they first began their sparring matches. 

What hadn’t been acceptable however, was that half way through their session, Tony had pulled his shirt off complaining about the heat and Stephen got a good look at how masculine his body was as opposed to his own, which was thinner with slight muscle tone. 

And that was when he felt it.

Something old and familiar building in his chest and rising up his throat like white hot bile. 

Somehow, Stephen had tapped into his dragonfire. 

The very essence that had made him a Dragon was in his throat wanting release.  
Stephen clamped a hand over his mouth just as he coughed and his fire escaped in short bursts against his palm. 

How could this be happening?  
And why now of all days?

Tony turned back from discarding his shirt to restart their session, only to find Stephen running back into the castle with a hand over his mouth.  
Was Stephen feeling sick? Maybe a sparring session wasn’t the best thing to do straight after eating. 

 

Stephen burst into the tower, intent on asking Wong what was happening to him but unexpecting his teacher to be right there at the door.  
His hand flew away from his mouth as he startled, bright blue flames reaching within in an inch of Wong’s face. 

Wong was stoic as usual, “You’re back early.”

Stephen felt thoroughly confused.  
Not only at what was happening to him but also at Wong’s reaction to what was happening to him.

“You got your gift I see. Don’t wear it around all the time, it’s the only way we can gaze into the future.”

Stephen looked down at the amulet resting on his chest and by the time he looked back up, Wong wasn’t there.  
He climbed the stairs and found him searching a bookcase.  
Stephen stalked over to him. 

“Wong, my dragonfire shouldn’t be accessible to me. It never has been, no matter how angry or frustrated I have gotten in the past. There is something-“

“There is nothing wrong with you, Stephen.” Wong said nonchalantly, taking a volume from the shelf he had been searching and placing it down on a desk, flipping through its yellowed pages before stopping and turning to him, “Did you say flustered or frustrated?”

Stephen’s face went red, “Flust- frustrated! Like I am at this very moment!”  
“And yet, here I remain, unburnt.”

Wong gave him a knowing smile and Stephen’s face went at least twenty times brighter, “What if I hurt...someone?”

“What if you don’t?” Wong answered with a shrug, turning back to his book, “You have always been protective of the prince, I’m sure you’re fire would bring no harm to him.”

Stephen spluttered an attempt to cover the fact he hadn’t meant Tony specifically, but Wong just gave him an unimpressed look.  
“Of course you meant the prince, who else would you mean? You wouldn’t be as fearful otherwise.”

Stephen sat down at the desk feeling thoroughly exhausted from the conversation.  
He just needed to know if Tony was safe from him. 

He looked down at the amulet. 

“Don’t.”  
“If I can use this to gaze into the future-“  
“The Eye does not show you a single outcome of the future, but all of them.”

He must have sensed Stephen’s confusion because he stepped away from his book and summoned a large glowing web in the center of the room, the lights around them dimming for added effect. 

Stephen pulled himself to his feet.  
He had seen this complex entanglement of interlacing events and outcomes so many times.  
This was Tony. 

“Using the Eye will only give you all of the answers that are already floating around in your head.  
Each thread you see before you is an answer. It is up to you to choose which path you want to take. If you choose for your dragonfire to harm, then it will. If not, then it won’t.  
The future is being constantly written and even I myself have not seen all the outcomes. All I can do is try to make the right outcomes come to pass as per my king’s request.”

Choose for his dragonfire not to harm? Where had Wong learned that?  
Stephen stared at his teacher, his mouth opening as the bell from town began tolling.  
After the fourth ring, Stephen suddenly realised that the guests for Tony’s birthday would already be arriving and he still owed him an explanation for his sudden disappearance during their sparring session.  
“I can ask my teacher for her advice if you like, she would surely have more answers-“  
“That would great Wong thanks!” Stephen yelled behind him as he raced out of the tower. 

He sped past servants carrying trays of food to the ball room where their birthday was held every year, ran up the stairs to Tony’s room and burst in. 

Tony jumped a foot in the air and dropped the shirt he was going to wear, turning with a scowl only for it disappear instantly when he saw Stephen.  
Tony raced forward and embraced his friend, whose hands had nowhere to go but on the skin of Tony’s back. 

Why did this day insist on parading a shirtless Tony before him like a wave of water onto a drowning man?

“Are you feeling better?”

“What?” Stephen cleared his throat after a slight pause, feeling the white hot burning in his chest return while he prayed to the Old Dragon Creators that his fire would stay there, “Oh! Yeah...yeah..”

“Time for my present then.”

Tony pulled away from him and the butterflies in Stephen’s stomach would have gone away if Tony hadn’t grabbed his hand and pulled him along with him to the chest of draws against the wall. 

Stealing a quick look in the mirror above it, Stephen could see his eyes were glowing.  
This wasn’t good.  
He wanted...he wanted...

“Here it is!” Tony exclaimed, pulling a bundle of red cloth out of the draw he had been searching, turning around with it clasped triumphantly in his hand only to stop and stare at him. 

“Stephen?”

Maybe it was to ask Stephen about his glowing eyes, which had a hunger in them he’d never seen in his friend before, or about the warmth radiating from Stephen as he felt a hand rest on his hip, goosebumps breaking out on the rest of his body from the chill in the room. 

Whatever it was he was going to ask died instantly when Stephen touched his lips to Tony’s. 

The human made a small noise, Stephen’s present falling to the floor as his hands stayed frozen in mid air before they wandered slowly to Stephen’s robes and gripped the material tightly.  
Stephen pulled him closer, rubbing his tongue along Tony’s lips until they opened to him, feeling his arms winding around his neck as his tongue slid inside Tony’s mouth, a shiver running through the both of them. 

A loud banging on the door had Tony jumping a second time, this time away from Stephen as the door opened and King Howard walked in. 

“Are you dressed yet?”

He stopped when he saw the two, his eyes darting from his shirtless son to Stephen and his glowing eyes. 

“The guests are arriving and we are short two birthday boys! Hurry it up, both of you!”

And with that, Howard left the two alone once more. 

Stephen wanted nothing more than to pull Tony back into his arms where he belonged, to kiss him and taste him, the party be damned.

Tony quickly swiped the red cloth the same colour as his face off the floor and pushed it into Stephen’s chest until he took hold of it, not looking at him. 

“I uh...I gotta get ready.”

Tony walked away as Stephen unfurled his present to reveal a cloak of red velvet.  
He pulled it over his shoulders and turned to Tony, who now had his shirt on and was smiling at him, his cheeks still red. 

“It suits you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was a pain to write, but I’m happy with how it turned out!
> 
> Explicit rating is for the next chapter!


	3. Chapter 3

Howard gazed at Anthony and Stephen with a fond smile.  
They were standing as close as possible to one another, Stephen saying something that was causing his son to have the biggest grin on his face.

Of course, this meant that the rest of the guests were shunned or outright ignored as Stephen kept a watchful eye on who was approaching them, and most of the older guests decided to tell Howard how rude his son was being for talking to a servant over them. 

Howard took great pleasure in seeing their faces fall and horror replace every feature when he told them that Stephen wasn’t a servant, but training to be his son’s Sorcerer. 

As another guest left with their daughter in tow, he felt someone step beside him and knew it was Wong without looking.  
The Sorcerer couldn’t sneak up on him as well as he used to. 

Howard swirled his drink around in his glass, “Is everything alright?”

“Yes, the path you have chosen will still come to fruition with your choice of suitor.”

He sighed in relief.  
Now all he had to do was get Anthony to meet them.  
And marry them.  
Preferably not on the same day as was the case with his own marriage. 

“Maybe I should have invited them here tonight.” Howard looked back at the two boys, who had disappeared from the crowded celebrations to spend a little time alone together, like they did at every party. 

They had good timing too as the Grand Duke was carting around his neice in search of the prince. 

“I’m sure the Prince of Azule would have been delighted to be ignored and their company rejected in favour of another.”

Howard closed his eyes.  
After all the comments he had received about his son’s behaviour, he didn’t think he could stomach any coming from Azule’s royal family. 

Not only were he and King Joseph good friends, but they had been planning to unite their kingdoms with the marriage of their only children for close to a decade now, and it kept him up some nights that Anthony would somehow turn his destiny away from the future Howard wanted for him, whether by accident or out of spite. 

He’d already held his son’s still body in his arms once, and it was not something he ever wanted to repeat. 

Howard suddenly realised Wong was saying something, and tried to focus his attention. 

“-takes concentration, something Stephen lacks when it comes to the prince so much as walking through the courtyard below the tower. Which is why he needs some time away from the castle. A couple of months-“

Howard choked on his drink, guests and servants staring at him while he tried to compose himself before rounding on his friend, “Are you insane? This castle will be forever scarred by the day we moved Stephen out of Anthony’s room because they thought they were being seperated forever and you want to take Stephen out of the castle for a few months?”

“With Stephen focused on his training, this is an opportune time to bring in the Prince of Azule. He will be able to keep Prince Anthony company at the very least.”

Howard stared at him, wondering why he hadn’t thought of that.  
If he wrote now, the Prince might arrive tomorrow. 

“I’ll leave it in your hands to tell them what is going on, Wong, I’ve a letter to write!” Howard said as he side stepped around the Grand Duke, who no doubt wanted to tell him how bad his parenting skills were. 

 

There was a chill in the night air as Tony and Stephen wandered the front gardens side by side. 

Tony wanted to be the first to address their kiss, to ask Stephen what had made him decide to show his feelings in that moment after all this time, and was struggling to find the words. 

He’d had feelings for Stephen for a while now and had tried to ignore them.  
He was a prince after all, he was expected to marry some stranger, he wasn’t allowed to love freely.  
But now he knew Stephen felt the same way as he did he didn’t want to be with anyone else but him no matter what his father said. 

Stephen had been thinking about the kiss also. 

Why else would Tony kiss him back unless he felt for him what Stephen had been feeling all his human life?  
He had wanted to make Tony his for so long, but couldn’t bring himself to tell him how he felt, fear of rejection and ruining their friendship staying his tongue. 

He would rather just be Tony’s friend than nothing at all. 

But since that kiss just a few short hours ago, at the feeling of the prince’s lips beneath his own and his body against him, he didn’t want to be just his friend anymore. 

And he didn’t want anyone else to experience what he had either. 

They came to a small bench overlooking the rose bushes and as they sat, Stephen pulled his cloak around Tony to keep him warm.  
The prince sighed happily as he melted into Stephen’s warmth, resting his head against his shoulder. 

Stephen wanted to say something, but he also didn’t want to burn down the rose bushes. 

“Stephen?”

Stephen hummed in reply to show he was listening, his flames licking up his throat. 

“You’ve been quiet for a while now. Does it have anything to do with your fire breath?”

“Fire breath?!” 

Feigning ignorance would have worked if said fire breath hadn’t burst from his vocal chords. 

Tony smiled up at him, “I’m very perceptive of these things you know. It was either your dragonfire or your four other tongues I felt during that kiss.”

Stephen would have laughed if he wasn’t so shocked from learning that he had breathed fire into Tony’s mouth and hadn’t killed him. 

“It just...came back today-“  
“Ohhhhh so that’s why you ran off...”

Tony suddenly went quiet and Stephen hoped he wasn’t putting two and two together.  
He really did. 

“It didn’t happen to be because you got a good look at my shirtless body was it?”

Stephen went so red he feared his face might be glowing like his eyes and Tony snorted at his silence, sitting up and looking at him. 

“Is that a dragon’s equivalent to a-“  
“No!”  
“Then I guess I owe you an apology six years late then.”  
“Why is that?  
“Because that’s when we stopped having baths together.”

Oh.  
Ohhhhhhh.

“Ahem.”

The two of them jumped off the seat, whirling around to see Wong standing there.  
How much had he heard?  
And how the hell did he move so silently?

“My prince.” Wong bowed, “Might I speak with Stephen alone for a moment”

Tony felt Stephen grab his hand. 

“I’m sure whatever it is you wish to say can be said in front of the prince.” Stephen glared at his teacher. 

“Very well. I have contacted the one who taught me to be a Sorcerer and she has agreed to help you.”  
“Help me with what?”  
“Controlling your dragonfire.”  
“How would a Sorcerer know-“  
“She’s a Dragon too, isn’t she?”

Stephen looked down at Tony, wondering how he’d managed to figure that out so quickly, before he looked back at Wong. 

Wong nodded, “Yes, my prince, she is. An ancient Dragon who took me in and trained me. She can help you, Stephen.”

“When will she be here?”

Wong stayed silent. 

“We’re going to her?”  
“Yes.”  
“When?”

More silence. 

Stephen’s grip suddenly tightened on Tony’s hand, “You can’t mean-“

“The sooner the better.”  
“It’s our birthday.”  
“And you’ll be back before the next one if your training goes smoothly.”

Blue flames burst out of the sides of his mouth, dying back down into his throat when he felt Tony squeeze his hand. 

Tony gave Wong a look and the Sorcerer bowed before moving away. 

Stephen turned to Tony, an argument at the ready, but Tony was looking up at him sadly. 

“You should go, Stephen.”  
“What? No! I don’t want to leave you.”  
“This isn’t about me. There is another Dragon, alive and willing to help you, and you should go to her.”

Tony let go of his hand as Wong looked over at them, a portal swirling beside him “I’ll see you when you get back.”

“It is unlike you to give up this easily.”

“I’m not giving up, Stephen. Throwing a tantrum will get us nowhere. This isn’t a Sorcerer thing, it’s a Dragon thing, and Dragons are becoming less and less in our world. If you don’t do this, you’ll regret it.”

Stephen smiled down at him, “Spoken like a true king.”

“I’m not King just yet.” Tony smiled back. 

Stephen pulled him in for a hug goodbye, wishing it could be a kiss. 

Tony held him tightly before he began to pull away and Stephen had to stop himself from dragging him back into his warmth.  
He didn’t want to leave.  
His place was by Tony’s side.  
But he had to gain control of his dragonfire, so instead of prolonging the little time they had together, he let Tony go.

Wong walked through the portal and Stephen did also, turning in time to see Tony smiling at him before the portal closed on him. 

“Ahh, you must be Stephen.”

He whipped around at the woman’s voice.  
She was dressed in a yellow robe similar to his blue and Wong’s red. She had no hair but had big green eyes that held an age to them far beyond the years of her human visage.  
She held herself tall, her hands behind her back, and was looking at Stephen as if she knew something he didn’t. 

“The last Crystal Dragon.”

Stephen shivered at her cold words. 

He was here for one purpose and the sooner they addressed that purpose and found out if she could really help, the sooner he could get back to Tony. 

“I somehow managed to bring out my dragonfire yesterday and it keeps happening. And Wong mentioned you could help me control it.”

The woman was silent, her large eyes sliding to Wong. 

“Well? Can you?” He demanded. 

“Wong, if you would be so kind as to leave us some privacy, Stephen and I would greatly appreciate it.”

“Of course.” Wong bowed. 

Stephen could see a blush tinge her cheeks as she escorted Wong out of the door and closed it behind him, leaning her back against it. 

“I take it your father never got the chance to tell you. You are quite young so he must have thought that-“  
“Tell me what?”  
“It’s simple really, you are in love. And your Dragonfire is reacting the emotion.”

Stephen didn’t say anything. 

“It only happens around the prince correct?”

Stephen stared at her.  
How did she know that?  
Did everyone know? Wong sure acted like he knew...

The woman smiled, “And to find a Dragon in a human form, at such a young age too...”

“He’s not.”

Her smile faded. 

“You are sure?”  
“Yes. He was born human.”  
“You’re in love with a human?” 

It was more a question she asked herself than him as she walked past him, lost in thought. 

“What, is there some rule against that?”  
“No! No...it’s not uncommon...just advised against.”  
“Why?”  
“How old are you, Stephen?”  
“What? I- I don’t really know...”  
“If you had to guess then.”  
“I was over two hundred years old when I was changed into a human...”

She smiled sadly at him. 

“And how old is he?”

Stephen felt the world tilt around him as he suddenly realised what she was saying. 

“Eigh...eighteen.”

“That is why it’s advised against. Dragons only have one in their life they are meant to be with. And what makes it so much worse in your case, is that you are in love with a mortal prince who will marry another.”

He could feel the tears prickling his eyes, his fists clenching in the red material of the cloak Tony had given him as he tried to keep control of his emotions, his fire bubbling in his throat and making it harder to breathe. 

“While you serve him as his Sorcerer, you will love him. While he lives his life with another and grows old, you will love him. And centuries after he is gone, you will continue to love him.”

“I don’t...” Stephen fought back the tears that threatened to fall, “I don’t want to live a life without him. I can’t!”

“Dragon’s don’t get to choose who they love. And they don’t get to love afterwards. I’m sorry Stephen. I’m so sorry. For both of you.”

Stephen could hold his tears back no longer. 

 

The door to his new room opened and Wong stood there, smiling happily. 

“She has agreed to oversee your training. Once she has, you will be considered a fully fledged Sorcerer.”

Stephen had nothing to say him.  
His mind was too busy racing with the conversation he had had with his new teacher. 

“I must return to the castle so I will see you then...then.”

Wong couldn’t bring himself to say goodbye and it didn’t seem like Stephen was going to say it either, so he left Stephen to his thoughts. 

He made his way down the corridor and as he turned a corner, saw her waiting for him. 

“He holds The Eye already?”  
“Yes. He was entrusted with it only today.”  
“You were quite quick to get rid of it.”

Wong closed his eyes.  
It was no use hiding the truth from her. 

“I cannot see any further than a certain day.”  
“You speak as if you know what day that is, and how close it draws.”

Silence fell between them.  
They both knew what it meant. 

“You leave for the castle then?”  
“Yes.”  
“Are you sure you don’t wish to stay?”  
“My king and prince need me.”  
“Very well. Then good luck, Wong. I shall call upon you when he has completed the rest of his training.”

Wong bowed to her once more, and conjured a portal, stepping through without a backwards glance. 

Why were human lives always so short?

~.~

Tony woke the next day with a lump in his stomach as he stared up at his ceiling.  
How long would Stephen be away for?  
Would he be back before their birthday next year?  
Or the Christmas Eve party?  
Or would it take longer?  
Would he already be married by the time Stephen returned to him?

Tony kicked the bed sheets and cover off of himself.  
He had to talk with his father.  
He had to tell him how he felt about Stephen. 

 

As he made his way down to the dining hall, the castle seemed a buzz with excitement. 

Servants and guards were talking amongst one another, and Tony managed to catch some of their conversations. 

“A guest is here!”  
“King Howard invited him-“  
“Who is he?”  
“-prince from another kingdom...”

Tony froze.  
It couldn’t be...

Neglecting the dining hall for the throne room, Tony burst in to find his father smiling down at the ‘guest’

“Ahhh, Anthony! Come, meet the Prince if Azule...”

Tony swallowed heavily before he forced his legs to move. 

“Prince Steven Rogers.”

Tony’s chest tightened at this suitor’s name.  
His father wouldn’t have done that on purpose...Would he?

His eyes locked onto Prince Rogers’ blue ones.  
They were a deeper blue than Stephen’s. 

The prince bowed to him, “Prince Anthony. How I wish we had had the chance to meet sooner in our lives. Your kingdom is beautiful, but not as beautiful as the one who will one day rule it.”

Tony looked up at his smiling father on the throne and at Wong beside him, before bowing as well, doing what was expected of him. 

“Your words...honour me...”  
Was he seriously meant to call this prince ‘Stephen’ as well?

“Prince Steven will be staying here with us for a week every month.”

Tony’s gut was churning at his father’s words and his anger was building.  
If this was his way of trying to replace Stephen...

“Father. Might I have a private word with you?”

King Howard nodded and at once, Wong and Prince Steven Rogers walked out of the throne room. 

Howard regarded Anthony as he stood before him, fidgeting slightly while he waited for Howard’s permission to speak. 

“What’s on your mind, son?”

Anthony took a moment to collect his thoughts, sitting down on the steps before facing him. 

“You’ve often told me of...how I’m expected to marry.”  
Brown eyes looked up at him and Howard nodded. 

“Yes.” He said slowly, wondering where his son was going was this. 

“But what if I don’t...if I don’t want to marry him? Or if I don’t love him?”

Howard chuckled.  
So it was going to be one of these conversations. 

“I didn’t love your mother when I first met her. We built that love over time... As you will do.”

That didn’t seem to be the answer his son wanted.  
Anthony was chewing on the side of his cheek, contemplating his next question. 

“But...what if you loved someone else and didn’t want to marry my mother?”  
“If I didn’t marry your mother, you wouldn’t have been born, Anthony...”  
“Could you not call me that?”  
“What would you have me call you?”  
“Tony.”

An uneasy silence fell between them, Howard pondering both of his son’s questions. 

He’d made his position on Anthony’s shortened name quite clear in the past from the few fights they’d had about it, but his son seemed to be searching for something in particular with this ‘hypothetical’ question of his. 

“My duty.”

Anthony’s face fell and he looked down at the floor. 

“Because we are royalty.” Howard said softly, “We don’t get to choose who we love.”  
“That doesn’t seem fair.”  
“No. It doesn’t. But that unfairness lead to your birth. It lead to you meeting and befriending Stephen.”

At the mention of the name, Anthony’s eyes shimmered with tears and Howard instantly regretted it. 

“Anthony-“

Before he could apologise, his son quickly stood up. 

“Forget I asked anything, I got what answer you could give me. You’d pick your duty over happiness.”

Howard stared at him.  
Duty...over happiness?

“Wait, that’s not what I-“

Anthony bowed to him, “I’m sorry for disturbing you.”  
And with that, his son left. 

Howard sighed.  
He had a feeling this conversation wasn’t over. 

 

Tony stormed out of the throne room.  
He had gone there specifically to tell his father about himself and Stephen and hadn’t done it.  
It was probably for the best however, with this suitor being here his father wouldn’t have been too happy learning his son was pining for his Sorcerer to be. 

 

He reached the library where his tutor was waiting, pushing past them as they scolded him for being late to the lesson, and saw that Rogers was already there.  
Tony sat at the table they were to share, deciding to ignore him as the lesson began and shifting his seat away from him. 

As the lesson progressed, he could feel Rogers watching him every so often out of the corner of his eye, his skin crawling every time it happened.  
And when the lesson was over, Tony rushed out of the room before Rogers had the chance to say anything to him, heading for the Sorcerer’s tower and banging on the door until it opened. 

Wong stood to the side immediately as Tony barged in and closed the door. 

“Hiding, are we?”  
“I want to see Stephen.”

Wong closed his eyes, “You can’t, Prince Anthony.”

“I need to see him!”  
“He needs to concentrate-“  
“PLEASE!”

Wong stared at the young prince. 

“Just for five minutes...Please.”

“I know that you miss him.” Wong sighed, “And he misses you a thousand times more.”

Tony looked down at the floor, “Which is why you must refuse, right?”  
“Yes, my prince.”

Tony sank slowly onto the wooden floor, Wong sitting down beside him. 

Five minutes wasn’t too much to ask for.  
Five minutes was enough time to hug him, to tell him the suitor was here and that he wasn’t coping with being forced to be with someone with his name.  
Five minutes was enough time to look into those glowing bright blue eyes, shades lighter and more beautiful than any suitor in the world, and be told everything was going to be alright. 

“I can, however, allow you to hide here whenever you want, for as long as you need.”

Tony nodded slowly and felt Wong place a comforting arm around him. 

~.~

The first few months the prince came to visit crawled by but Tony entertained himself by ignoring him.  
He ignored him at breakfast.  
He ignored him in the halls and during their lessons.  
And he especially liked to ignore him after their lessons and during his free time, in which he would run to the Sorcerer’s tower and be greeted by Wong. 

There he would sit at the desk by the window and read, or lock himself in Stephen’s room. 

He’d found himself searching the bookcase of oddities and treasures Stephen had kept over the years, smiling at the memories each held. 

Like the oval polished stone they had found in the river on their first ride into the Woods.  
Tony had thought it to be a Dragon’s egg and Stephen hadn’t told him otherwise. 

Or the little yellow flower that had got caught in Tony’s hair when they’d tumbled down a hill as kids, preserved in a glowing orb of orange magic. 

Or the toy monkey Tony had given him so he wasn’t alone at night when he’d been moved out of his room. 

Tony had also taken to sleeping in Stephen’s bed some nights.  
Wong never mentioned it, but Tony always found himself in his own room when he woke. 

And then, on his way to the tower one day, he found Rogers blocking the stairs. 

“Great.” Tony muttered under his breath as Rogers saw him and began walking over.  
There was no ignoring him now. 

“Prince Anthony!” Rogers smiled, “Would you permit me some of your time to talk?”

“I am much too busy, Steve.”  
“Steven.”

“I’m not calling you that.” Tony bristled, pushing past him. 

“Is it because of your friend?”

Tony stopped, turning slowly. 

“King Howard told me your friend’s name was Ste-“  
“Is. Not was. He’s not...’gone’ gone he’ll be back.”  
“My apologies. My intention was not to upset you.”

Tony sighed.  
Why did he always speak so self righteously?

“But, I would still like for you to call me by my full name all the same...and to get to know you better. We are to be wed after all.”  
“It’s either Steve or Prince Rogers. Your choice. Now if you’ll excuse me.”

He turned to climb the stairs but stopped himself on the third.  
He didn’t need a lecture from his father if Rogers decided to go crying to him again.  
And he was starting to feel a little guilty about ignoring him.  
Just a little. 

He turned back to face him, “But...I suppose I could make time for you.”

“Now?”

Tony looked up the stairs to the tower’s door, hoping Wong would burst out and save him from this conversation. 

“Just to talk.”

“Just to talk.” Rogers nodded at him, giving him a warm smile and extending his arm. 

Tony took it and Rogers escorted him out into the front gardens. 

“So...where is your friend?”  
“Really? You finally get me alone to talk and that’s the first question you ask?”  
“I’d like to know as much as I can about him. He will be our Sorcerer.”

He didn’t want to talk about Stephen, but Steve bringing him up as a topic of conversation made the corner of his mouth lift up.  
He knew he was trying. 

“He left to finish his training as a Sorcerer.”  
“Is that all?”

Tony raised an eyebrow, “What other reason do you think it could have been?”

Rogers shrugged, “Maybe you two got in a fight...”

“We don’t fight...well I mean we do, but not verbally.”  
“I see.”

They came to the bench surrounded by rose bushes and Tony felt his heart drop at the last memory of this place. 

Steve sat down, but Tony remained standing. 

“You’re not going to sit?”  
“I thought we could continue our walk before we rested.”  
“But it is such a nice place to relax, we can sit and talk.”

Knowing he wasn’t going to convince Rogers that he didn’t want to be here without bringing up the reason, he sat down beside him. 

“How about we make a deal?”  
“What kind of deal?”

“I’ll call you Tony if you call me Steven.” Rogers grinned at him, “Your father mentioned you preferred to be called Tony by your friends.”

“Friend.” Tony corrected, “I only have one. And what are you doing talking to my father?”

“I needed help getting you to talk to me.”  
“Was it also his plan to block my way to the Sorcerer’s tower?”  
“No, no that was mine own.”

Tony huffed a laugh and Rogers chuckled beside him. 

“Not the best of plans I know but it did get you to talk to me so it worked.”  
“You’re timing was impeccable to my guilt of ignoring you.”

Rogers smiled at him, “You were feeling guilty of ignoring me?”

Tony rolled his eyes “Don’t make me take it back.” 

Rogers laughed, holding his hands up in mock surrender, and Tony couldn’t help but laugh too. 

It was then Tony felt a hand rest on his thigh. 

“Rogers-“

“I love you.”

Tony stared at him, his smile gone, “You don’t even know me.”

“Then give me this chance to get to know you. Give me this chance to love you. Please Tony.”

The hand on his leg tightened a little. 

Tony quickly stood up, “I believe I have permitted all the time I can to you today, so if you’ll excuse me...”

“You can’t be with him.”

Tony froze, a pair of arms wrapping around his stomach, Rogers leaning his head down onto his shoulder.  
A shiver ran through his body as he felt his breath on his neck. 

“I won’t give up on my fight for you. I won’t stop trying to make you mine. My love for you out weighs anything he could ever convince you he feels. We are to be wed after all.”

Tony pushed himself out of the embrace and headed back into the castle. 

 

King Howard had heard about their meeting in the gardens and had taken it as a good sign that his son and suitor were now on speaking terms it would seem, as when Tony entered the dining hall for dinner, he found a feast laid upon the table and the room completely empty. 

He was not in the mood for dining with Rogers after their conversation earlier that day and turned to leave, only to walk right into him. 

“Tony! Is everything alright?”

Tony glared up at him, “That’s Prince Anthony to you, Rogers, and yes, I’m simply not hungry. Good night.”

Steve’s hand latched lightly around his wrist, stilling him from walking away, “We don’t have to talk. Just eat with me.”

Tony pulled out of the grip, “No thank you.”  
He hurried up the stairs and slammed his door shut, walking out onto his balcony as lightning cracked the sky open, illuminating the world for the briefest of moments. 

He leaned on the white marble balustrade. 

He missed Stephen so much it hurt.  
Like he had taken a piece of him when he left and the hole within him left behind was on fire without it.  
No other piece would fit, and no other person could fill it, no matter how much Rogers wanted to be the one to. 

He was going crazy without him, and even more so with Rogers trying to ascert himself into his life. 

He rubbed at the tears on his cheek.  
How much longer would he be away?

Rogers stepped beside him, “Tony-“

He just couldn’t leave well enough alone. 

Tony glared up at him, “I don’t love you.” he said before Rogers could say anything more, “I won’t ever love you, and no amount of talking and getting to know one another will change that fact.”

Rogers stared at him blankly as the first few fat drops of rain began to fall, “Are you crying?”

“No! It’s the rain!” Tony huffed, walking back inside.  
Rogers followed him, grabbing his wrist again and not letting go this time when Tony tried to pull away from him. 

“And what of my own feelings? To have you here in front of me, to offer you my heart again and again only for you to turn away?”  
“Let go of me, Rogers.”  
“How can I live with these feelings eating away at my very soul?”

“I said let go!” Tony yelled over a rumble of thunder, struggling to pull away.  
He couldn’t feel his fingers.  
He felt an arm wrap around his waist and pull him in. 

“I lost you, didn’t I? I lost you to him.”

“You never had me to begin with!“

“He’s the reason for your tears, isn’t he?”

Tony stopped trying to pull away. 

Rogers embraced him in a hug, and Tony allowed it as he cried into the expensive satin of Steve’s chest, the hand that had been holding his finally letting go to brush his tears away, thunder rumbling in the distance. 

“Tony...”

The hand on his cheek pulled his head up to look into the wrong shade of blue. 

“You don’t need to worry any more, Tony. I’m here now. I won’t let him hurt you any longer.”

“What?”

Rogers surged forward, pulling Tony into a kiss he wanted no part of. At the touch of Steve’s tongue against his lips, Tony clamped his jaw shut and quickly squirmed away. 

“Stop!”  
“You can think of him if you like. I won’t be bothered by it. Just as long as you become mine. Like you were always intended to be.”

Rogers kissed him again and Tony pushed him away, strong hands wrapping around his wrists once more.  
He stepped back and Rogers stepped with him, the room suddenly lighting up from a loud crack of lightning as Tony was pushed onto his bed. 

Tony felt like his bones had suddenly turned to ice. 

Rogers was above him, holding his wrists above his head, and he could feel something he definitely did not want anything to do with digging into his hip. 

He could feel his heart beating too fast in his chest, making it twice as hard to breathe through the initial panic his body was currently going through. 

“Don’t.”

Rogers held his wrists in one hand as his other grazed down to Tony’s shirt, pulling open a single button to reveal the blue dragonfire burning in his chest. 

“You are remarkable, Tony.” Rogers breathed in his ear as his hand slowly slithered down Tony’s shivering body, “To survive the fire of the Crystal Dragon, to live for as long as you have with that destructive force acting as your heart, you captured mine instantly.”

Rogers leant down and kissed the slightly warm skin. 

“Get. Off.”

Rogers stopped, looking into Tony’s glare illuminated by the blue glow in his chest. 

“I’m giving you the chance to think of him.” Rogers leant in closer, “To think he is the one above you, loving you like only I ever will.”  
“Pretending won’t work.”  
“You don’t know that-“  
“I do because if I told Stephen to stop he would!”

For the briefest of moments, Tony caught a darkness in those eyes he had yet to see in the man above him. 

And then Rogers was letting him go and standing up from the bed and Tony could finally breathe again. 

“We will be married Tony, as you and he never will. I want to be with you, I want to show you just how much I love you, and on our wedding night I won’t be able to stop myself from having you. You are the one who stokes the embers of my heart. You might not love me now, but you will.”

Tony heard the door open and close as Rogers left and he burried himself under his covers, his arms wrapping around his shaking body. 

~.~

The next month came and went and Rogers didn’t make an appearance, which Tony was grateful for. 

A letter came for him however, telling of the circumstances and that Steve would be at the Christmas Eve party the following month. 

There had been had been a Dragon attack and many had been slain, including the King of Azule; King Joseph. 

King Howard was silent at the news of the death of his friend and Tony had no idea what to say to him.  
Half of him wanted to comfort his father while the other half wanted to inquire if he was still going to be forced to marry the soon to be King. 

He didn’t get the chance to do either as he watched his father stand from the table and leave, Wong rushing in at the same time. 

“Prince Anthony, good news!” 

Wong was smiling.  
Wong hardly ever smiled. 

“Stephen will be returning Christmas Eve.”

Tony’s heart skipped a beat. 

~.~

Christmas Eve arrived and Tony ran to the Sorcerer’s tower to see Stephen, only to be halted by Wong who told him Stephen wouldn’t be able to go out with him for the day. 

“Is he alright?”  
“He is fine. We will see you at the party tonight.”  
“Tonight?!”

The door closed before he could get another word out of the Sorcerer. 

Tony stood by it for a moment or two, pondering Wong’s words and resting his hand on the wood. 

He wouldn’t see Stephen until tonight?

Tony shook his head and left the tower. 

 

He took the horses he had prepared for their ride back into their stables, shooing away stablehands while he removed saddles and bridles and brushed down their coats. 

Rogers would be arriving for his weekly stay today and he didn’t want him to see the horses and think Tony had them prepared for himself and Rogers to take a ride. 

He never wanted to be alone again with him after their conversation last time. 

He’d wanted to tell his father what had happened, but feared all the wrong scenarios playing out in his head would come true. 

The only one who seemed to know was Wong, who had stopped magicking Tony into his own bed whenever he fell asleep in Stephen’s. 

Leaving the stables, he went to the dining hall, his father already holding out two gifts but faltering when he realised Stephen wasn’t with him. 

“I’ll give this to him tonight then.” Howard said, placing the small box back into his pocket while he held out an even smaller one to his son, “Merry Christmas, Anthony!” 

He opened the box, revealing a thick gold ring with a thin inlay of tiny rubies. 

Tony stared down at the gift. 

It was his father’s wedding ring. 

“Anthony.”

Tony felt sick. 

“I put this day on hold for so long and it came by faster than expected!  
This is the ring my mother gave to my father, and her father before her.  
And now it is yours to give to Prince Steven.  
I’ve also organised the orchestra to play a waltz for the two of you. Tonight’s going to be spectacular!”

Tony wanted to object to everything his father had said, he wanted to tell him what had happened during that storm three months ago, but the words wouldn’t come.  
He felt numb and alone.  
He wished Stephen had been there with him. 

 

Tony stayed in his room for the rest of the day, watching the snow fall from his window and ignoring the knocks on his locked door as he wondered how the day would have gone if Stephen had’ve been with him. 

They’d most likely be coming back from their ride in the woods about now.  
Maybe Stephen would have worn the cloak he’d gotten for him to keep warm and they’d have to stop at the river bank to allow their horses to drink.  
Maybe Tony would have started a snow ball fight with him.  
Maybe they would have shared another kiss. 

As the day became dusk, ships began to fill the ports and carriages the streets as guests from all over arrived for the celebrations. 

The party would soon begin. 

He pulled his clothing on and pinned the brooch Stephen had given him to his chest. 

Fully dressed, Tony walked to the ballroom, weaving through guests and servants, looking over the spectacular decorations of the room from the holly skirting the ceiling to the almost glowing Christmas tree. 

He hoped Stephen would arrive soon. 

Tony greeted the guests who came up to him, many he didn’t know and didn’t want to know from the way they were eyeing him as if they could get something from him. 

He was starting to get anxious. 

Where was Stephen?  
Wong had said they’d both be here tonight.  
And Stephen was always by his side when it came to parties and dealing with people he didn’t want to deal with. 

“Are you alright, my prince?”

He nodded at Wong’s words as the Sorcerer stepped beside him, “Just wish Stephen was here.”

“He’s simply running a little late, something about a Christmas gift, he will be here soon I assure you.”

Tony smiled, his heart lifting at the words.  
Stephen would be here after all this time. 

It was then he spotted his father and Rogers making their way through the crowd to where Tony was standing and the light feeling Tony had had quickly turned to lead. 

Tony took a step back into Wong.  
“I don’t want to-“  
“It’s just for a moment.”  
“If my father has it in his head that I’m marrying-“  
“Calm yourself, Prince Anthony.”

Tony took a breath and closed his eyes.  
Where was Stephen?

“Prince Anthony. Merry Christmas,”

Tony’s eyes flicked open to his father and he hoped he got his true feelings across. 

“Might I take this time to ask you for a dance later this evening?” Steve prompted, holding his hand out to him. 

Refraining from blurting out “No! Absolutely not! Not in a million years!” Tony instead took a more tactful approach.  
“I’m already taken for a dance I’m afraid. Perhaps another time?”

Confusion bubbled not only in Rogers’ eyes at his words, but his father’s as well.  
Serves him right for forcing this on him. 

Prince Rogers smiled at him, “I shall hold you to that promise, Prince Anthony. We will make such a pair when we dance after the wedding.”

Tony’s frustration got the better of him.

“You’re-“  
“Late, yes, I know.”

Stephen was by his side, dressed in his usual robes and with the cloak Tony had given him around his shoulders and Tony felt light headed at the sight of him. 

He was here.  
After all this time.  
Finally, they were back together again. 

He wanted to jump into his arms and never let him go, he wanted to kiss him senseless in front of this uptight suitor and his father and Wong and all of the guests. 

And from the look in Stephen’s faintly glowing eyes, he was holding himself back from nothing short than devouring Tony on the spot. 

Tony felt a shiver run up his spine. 

“My apologies, my prince, but time simply got away from me.” 

Stephen spoke slowly, as if every word had to be thought of so he didn’t make the mistake of saying something else entirely. 

“You’re here now...so...that’s all that matters.”

Tony was just as worse, having forgotten how to breathe. 

It felt like forever since he’d gazed into those eyes, seen that stupid old robe and that thin smile he always wore.  
Had he gotten skinnier?  
Wait...had he gotten taller?!

Rogers was giving Stephen a rather cold look, “Do you often interject yourself into private conversations with those who are above you?”

Tony would have thrown himself at the asshole if Stephen’s hand hadn’t been on his shoulder, light enough to just barely be there but grounding him all the same. 

Even Howard was taken aback by his words.  
“Stephen and my son have been friends since they were children, Prince Steven, you know this. And while I do not condone his mannerisms, he has always been treated as an equal by myself and especially by my son. I will have my guests treat him the same.”

Tony smiled wickedly at Rogers as he walked off with Stephen following close behind, leaving the Prince to grovel and beg for King Howard’s forgiveness. 

Once they were safely away, Tony rounded on his friend, “What the hell took you so long with your training? And today I went to get you but-” 

“I was getting you your gift.”

“Your presence would have been gift enough.” He muttered, watching Stephen pull a book out from under his cloak. 

He took it, his eyes lighting up at the title.  
It was the same one he’d read as a child and found Stephen’s name in. 

“I thought it had been thrown out!” He smiled, flipping through the pages of text and illustrations. 

“Am I forgiven?” 

Tony closed the book, placing it on a passing tray, “Not by a long shot.” 

Stephen huffed a laugh, “Then what can I do to make this right?”

Tony had a mischievous glint in his eye, “Accept your gift.” 

“Which is?”

The lights suddenly dimmed as slow music began to play.  
Tony took Stephen’s hand and pulled him into the center of the ball room before pressing it against his hip and taking his other hand while his free slid onto Stephen’s shoulder. 

“Dance with me.”

Stephen smiled at him, taking the lead as he often did when he had been helping Tony practice when they were younger, and they moved effortlessly across the floor, their eyes only on each other as the rest of the world became a blur. 

His father wasn’t going to be happy with him but he found he did not care.  
He felt safe in Stephen’s arms and calm for the first time in so long.  
Stephen’s hold on him was strong yet gentle and the hand on his hip was warm.  
He never wanted this to end. 

“You’re forgiven now.”  
“Good. I’d hate to be in your bad books on Christmas.”  
“The night is young, you still have time.”  
“I heard from Wong you missed me.”  
“I heard from Wong you missed me a thousand times more.”

Stephen chuckled, lowering his head, “Its true.”

Tony smiled as he leaned up, their lips inches apart. 

The music died down half way through at King Howard’s instruction and the guests erupted into applause, making them pull away. 

They moved to the side so they weren’t in the way of couples moving to share a dance of their own as music began to play once more, Tony watching his father get dragged away by Wong as Rogers came up to them. 

At least he’d only have to deal with one of them. 

“Prince Anthony, you are an amazing dancer.”  
“I owe it all to my dance partner here. He still has bruises from where I trod on his feet.”

That cold look was back, directed at Stephen once more, “Maybe you just need a better partner. Someone who knows what they are doing. I’ll be a much more fantastic partner than he ever could.”

Tony could hear a deep, low rumble coming from Stephen beside him. 

“I’m happy with the partner I have thank you.”  
“We could dance in your room-“  
“And I would like some punch!” Tony said a little too loudly, three of the servants close by hearing him and rushing to him with their trays.  
Tony took a glass, Stephen taking two, before Rogers ordered them away. 

“Tony.”

Stephen’s hands clutched the glasses firmly at the name spoken as  
Tony downed his glass and handed it to him.  
He replaced it with one of the two he had taken all the while glaring at Rogers. 

“We wouldn’t be dancing in the traditional sense.”

Tony spluttered into his drink and Stephen stepped in front of him.  
He could feel his dragonfire rage within his blood at what this ‘Prince’ had just insinuated.  
At how he thought he could just swoop in and try to take Tony from him.  
He would burn this castle to ash before he allowed that to happen. 

“You will remember your place as a guest here, and you will refrain from making such blatant remarks!” Stephen growled, baring his teeth in a sneer.  
He could easily summon his dragonfire and roast this man alive if he so wished. 

Rogers’ hand slipped to his sword hilt and throughout the movement around them of the ballroom, Stephen picked up four men in armour placing their hands on their swords as well. 

“You’re in no position to talk, Sorcerer. Not to your future King.”  
“My prince is my future King.”

Rogers smirked, “And that’s all he’ll ever be.”

Stephen had just decided that this man would look much better medium rare when he felt a hand on his arm. 

“Stephen.”

He calmed instantly at Tony’s voice, taking a step back to his side. 

Tony fixed Rogers with an icy glare, “I have tolerated your presence in my life for the past several months, because I had to.  
I had to tolerate you in my castle, during my lessons, wandering these halls all because I had to.  
And for the rest of my life I will do just that: Tolerate you.  
What I will not tolerate, is your higher than thou attitude when it comes to Stephen.  
And if we do somehow end up getting married before I have you thrown out on your ass, I will personally make your life a living hell. Goodnight.”

Rogers just stared at him in something akin to awe as Tony took  
Stephen’s hand and pulled him out of the ballroom and up the stairs, not letting go until they reached his bedroom. 

Stephen just stood there, gazing at Tony’s fury in a daze, his body igniting as his dragonfire burned through his veins.  
He had missed Tony so much.  
And now he was here.  
With him.  
Alone.  
Finally alone. 

“Sick, arrogant, perverted son of a bitch!” Tony fumed, stalking away from Stephen before swirling around and stalking back, “If my father thinks I’m marrying that asshole he is sorely mista-“

Tony’s words were cut off by Stephen grabbing him and locking their lips together. He felt Tony’s mouth open to him instantly and he slid his tongue inside, rendering a deep groan from the prince that made his dragonfire sing. 

And then Tony quickly pulled away. 

Stephen watched as Tony’s hands began lifting his shirt over his head, revealing the tonned muscles and blue light of his father’s fire.  
The shirt was tossed to the side and Tony stood there, his eyes fixed on Stephen’s, waiting. 

Stephen moved to him slowly, his hands sliding onto his hips, feeling the skin tremble slightly beneath his touch as he kissed his prince once more.  
Tony’s eyes slid closed, Stephen’s warm hands holding him with that same gentle strength. 

There was a tug at his pants and he felt them slide to the floor as Stephen abandoned Tony’s lips to drink in the sight of his perfect body. 

A body Tony wanted to share with him. 

“Don’t stop.” Tony whispered, “I don’t want this to stop.”

Stephen leaned into his neck, sucking a bruise into the skin as Tony’s hands slid to his waist to undo the many belts that were keeping his robes on his body. 

A quiver run through when him when Stephen scraped his teeth under his ear. 

“Stephen!” Tony gasped, leaning his head back a little more.

Stephen sank his teeth into Tony’s shoulder as the last belt was undone, his robes falling open before they were hastily pulled off of him with his cloak following suit. 

Ridding themselves of the rest of their clothing, Stephen lifted the prince up, their lips finding each other’s again as he carried Tony to his bed and laid him down on its covers.  
His hands roamed down Tony’s body, hooking around his thighs and making Tony’s breath hitch when he pulled them open to rest against his hips and their erections slid against one another. 

“I don’t want to share you with anyone else.” He growled into Tony’s chest, licking the blue skin, “I want you all to myself.”

“S-Stephen.”

He suckled on his fingers, coating them with saliva before he moved back up to Tony’s lips, kissing them sweetly as he pressed one against him, drawing out a delicious moan he would never forget as it slid inside, feeling Tony squeeze around it. 

“Did you know that Dragons mate for life?” He bit at his ear as Tony’s hands ran up his back, adding a second finger to join the first as they began to massage insistently, “We know who is meant for us, and you are meant for me, Tony. You are the only one for me.”

“I don’t want to be anyone else’s.”  
Tony was gazing up at him, his hand on his cheek, “All I’ve ever wanted is you.”

Their lips met hesitantly as Stephen pulled his fingers out and pressed his leaking cock into the tight ring, entering Tony slowly.  
Tony cried out, his fingernails digging into his back as Stephen pushed into him further. 

Tony’s eyebrows knitted and he stopped. 

“Am I hurting you?”  
“No.”  
“Are you sure?”  
“Yes. It just...feels strange.”

Stephen began to pull out and Tony’s eyebrows flew up, his mouth falling open around Stephen’s name. 

And Stephen was lost. 

He pushed back in, inclining his hips and making Tony clench down around him, a rumbling growl escaping him. 

Their tongues entwined and their hands did as well as Stephen’s thrusts became harder and faster, wanting to bring as much pleasure to Tony as he could, the bed banging slightly against the wall. 

How long had he waited for this night to share his body with the human he loved?  
He was glad he had waited as long as he had.  
It just made tonight all the more special. 

Stephen was getting close, and judging from how Tony’s walls were beginning to constrict his movements, Tony was too. 

Tony moaned loudly as his orgasm ripped through him, the sound and sight pulling Stephen’s out of him as well. 

They lay there panting, smiling at one another, before Stephen pulled slowly out of Tony’s wrecked body and magicked his cloak to float over to him, throwing it around his shoulders and wrapping Tony up in it as well. 

Tony just looked at him quizzically with his head adorably tilted.  
Stephen couldn’t help himself from stealing a kiss, pulling the man closer to his body to keep him safe. 

“Dragons would usually wrap their love in their wings.” Stephen explained, one hand around Tony’s body, the other sliding through his hair soothingly. 

“Do you miss them?”  
“No.” 

Tony looked up at him, “Not even a little? You don’t miss flying?”

Stephen shook his head, “I may have lost my wings and my ability to fly through the clouds, but I gained you, and that makes it all worth while.”

Tony’s blush was adorable, even more so when he tried to hide it in Stephen’s cloak. 

“I’m sure we would have met at some point in time. Everything would be exactly the same between us only you would have been a Dragon.”  
“I wouldn’t have been allowed inside the castle.”  
“I’d sneak you in, you could fly up to the balcony and I’d let you in from there.”  
“Would you still share your bed with me?”  
“Of course!”

Stephen’s hand in his hair stilled. 

“You propose that in this timeline of events where I have my Dragon form that nothing would change. Are you quite certain of that?”

Tony was silent for a moment, pondering his answer, before turning those big brown eyes up at Stephen. 

“Yes.”

Stephen felt his heart jump. 

“Because it would still be you. You, who have been there by my side and protected me. You, who have put up with me and seen every side of me and still consider me to be worth your time. You, who loves me not for what I have or the title I was born into, but for who I am and aim to be. Nothing would change.”

Stephen surged forward and claimed those lips with his own.  
He wanted nothing more than to push Tony back down into the bed, to show him just what those words had done to him. 

“Stephen?” Tony asked as he was pushed to turn over, his back pressing against Stephen’s chest as he felt a hand graze down his body,  
“What are you-“  
Tony’s words cut off into a noise that was a combination of a moan and a squeak as Stephen’s hand found what it was searching for, and gripped it tightly, his body shuddering as the hand began moving smoothly up and down his hardening cock, the pleasure he was still trying to come down from building up again. 

“I wouldn’t have been able to keep myself from you for long. I’d want to make you mine before anyone else could claim you.”  
He nibbled on the back of Tony’s neck, his tongue flicking out to soothe the skin.  
“I would have pushed you down into this bed and I wouldn’t have let you go until daybreak.”  
Stephen was grinding his erection against Tony’s ass, his mind filled with images of his Dragon self holding Tony down easily and wrapping his wings around the two of them. 

“Please.”

Stephen had to bite back a growl.

“I want to feel you, Stephen, please.”  
“Are you sure?” 

Tony nodded and he leant into the human until Tony flopped onto his chest, Stephen draping himself over him and wrapping his arm around his stomach.  
Tony’s hand clenched into the sheets when Stephen entered him again, this time a lot more smoother than the first, the discomfort quickly building to pleasure with each thrust into him timed with each stroke of his hand. 

“Just like this.” Stephen panted into his neck, licking the sweat away, “Oh just like this.”

His thrusts became more erratic with each noise that escaped Tony’s lips, leaning over him to capture them and swallow the groan as his Tony finally came over his hand, Stephen following closely behind. 

As he pulled out of his love, Tony grabbed his arm, vulnerability coming off of the man in waves making Stephen pause the spell to clean themselves and the bedsheets. 

“Stay with me tonight.”

Tony’s eyes were wide and pleading and Stephen didn’t want to leave him after what they had shared.  
Stephen nodded, pulling the now clean covers over them and wrapped Tony in his arms as he snuggled against his chest and fell asleep almost instantly. 

Stephen stayed awake, protecting him, just like he had done all those years ago.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In celebration of Avengers Endgame beating Avatar at the box office, I finally got this chapter done!
> 
> Your commmets are much appreciated. 
> 
> This chapter took so long because I wanted to give more time to Rogers and build upon his character and also there was a giant glaring black hole in my plot that I had to remedy. 
> 
> I hope you guys enjoy and look forward to the next chapter!


	4. Chapter 4

“Again.”

It had only been a couple of months since he had come to wherever here was to train with this ancient Dragon and her other students.  
And yet it felt like years since he had last seen Tony’s smiling face through that closing portal. 

During the day he practiced and trained with the other students, going over the basics before he was allowed to learn how to make portals. 

But at night, while the other students slept, he was awake with his new teacher, learning the one thing he’d come here for in the first place. 

Controlling his Dragonfire. 

He had learnt many things about Dragons and about his Dragonfire from her and the ancient wisdom she held. 

But even though he had learnt how to keep his Dragonfire under control to a certain degree, he still could not call it to him whenever he wanted. 

“Again, Stephen.”

Stephen tried to concentrate. He tried to pull his Dragonfire to him but it simply would not come.   
Even focusing on an image of Tony’s beautiful face, or the night of their first kiss didn’t seem to be working anymore.   
It was stubborn, much like himself. 

“Stephen!”

“It’s not working!” Stephen snapped, agitated at how long they had been at this for and how little progress he had made, “I’m not getting any better!”

“You need to make it work. Your Dragonfire has the power to harm as well as heal. You may need to call upon either one day and you’ll need to be able to call the right one. Again.”

“There has been no need for it as of yet.”  
“And what will you do if your prince is in danger? Or is injured?”  
“He won’t be in danger because I’ll be by his side to protect him and if he does somehow get injured I’ll be there to patch him up! There will be no need for me to use my Dragonfire!”

She stared at him, “What if he does get injured, and his injury is too grave to simply be ‘patched up’?”

She took a step forward, her vibrant green eyes cold and distant, staring hauntingly through him as if he wasn’t even there, “What if the only way to save him is to use your Dragonfire? What will you do then?”

Stephen managed to keep his fire in his throat, but he knew his eyes were glowing from the expression on her face, “I won’t let that happen.”

“But if it did, you could burn him on accident.”

“I would never harm him!” Stephen yelled, his fire escaping through his words. 

He looked away from her as her eyes refocused on him, “You mustn’t let your emotions rule you, Stephen. That is how you brought your fire out in the first place. That is what makes it dangerous and unpredictable. Control your emotions, and you may be able to control your Dragonfire.”

He knew she was right.   
She was always right. 

“Now, again.”

~.~

Stephen smiled down at Tony as he watched him sleep.   
It had been so long since the last time he had gazed upon his peaceful face. 

Stephen was running his thumb along the inside of Tony’s wrist delicately so as not to wake him when Tony, still in sleep, suddenly snatched his hand away from him, drawing it closer to himself as if to protect it while he mumbled something incoherent. 

That was new. 

Stephen’s brow furrowed.   
Tony had never pulled away from him before.   
Even in the throes of a terrible nightmare, not once had he ever fought Stephen off of him. 

He tried to remember if Tony had done something like that last night, but nothing came to mind.   
Tony had been the one to take his hand in every moment they had shared. 

Had Tony injured it while he’d been away?  
Surely he would have told him as such last night. 

Tony had always been able to tell Stephen anything...

 

Stephen woke Tony up as the sun began to break over the horizon and creep into the room over their mess of clothing still on the floor and rumpled bed sheets. 

Even though every fibre of his being was screaming at him to stay with his love after their night together, Stephen had to get back to the tower before Wong noticed his absence and they did not need to have him and King Howard bursting through a portal to find them naked in the Prince’s bed. 

Tony complained about being woken up so early and complained some more when Stephen untangled himself from Tony’s grasp and left the warm bed to get dressed

“Can’t you stay for a little longer? It’s cold.” Tony mumbled, cocooning himself in his blankets as he wiggled over to where Stephen had been laying to steal the warmth he’d left behind. 

Stephen pulled the covers away from the tuft of hair sticking out from under them and kissed his forehead, “Believe me, if it were up to me, we would never leave this room.”

“If you stay, we don’t have to.” came the muffled reply. 

“You make a compelling argument.” Stephen smiled into Tony’s hair as he rested his head atop it. 

Stephen kissed him one last time before exiting his room, leaving Tony with his cloak and a promise he would be back that night.   
Tony wrapped himself up in the material that smelled like Stephen and buried himself under his warm covers once more with the intention of falling back asleep, but it never came to him. 

It was Christmas Day, and the kingdom was a wonderland of frosted trees and snow covered hills and roof tops.   
All throughout the world, people were spending the day with the ones they loved the most. 

And Tony had to spend it with Steve instead of Stephen. 

 

An hour later he was dressed with Stephen’s cloak over his attire and his sword sheathed against his hip, walking to the dining hall to have some breakfast. 

Prince Rogers was making conversation with his father about something or other, their discussion coming to an abrupt halt as Tony entered the room and ignored them both as he sat at the furthest seat at the table and took an apple from the fruit platter in front of him. 

“Such a beautiful day!” Rogers began saying as Tony bit into it, “Perfect weather for a walk in the woods. Wouldn’t you agree, Prince Anthony?”

Tony glared over his apple, not missing how Rogers’ eyes flicked to the cloak he was wearing, “Perhaps another time.”

“Anthony.” 

He hated it when his father used that tone. 

“You might wish to reconsider how you speak to the one who asked for your hand in marriage.”

Tony was on his feet so quickly the chair he’d been sitting on clattered to the floor.

“I won’t!”  
“Anthony!”  
“He insulted Stephen twice last night!”  
“And you dancing with him was your way of getting back at him was it?”  
“It was Stephen’s Christmas present!”  
“Which was meant for Prince Steven!”  
“Stephen means more to me than any old suitor!”  
“So help me, Anthony...”  
“STOP calling me that!”

Tony grabbed hold of the first thing he saw, which happened to be the fruit platter, and threw it against the wall.   
The room echoed with the metallic ring of the platter, rendering everyone within speechless as Tony shook with rage and fruit bounced everywhere.

The King glowered at his son and the shameful way he was acting.   
“Out. Everyone. Now.”

The servants who had been waiting around the table, the guards who stood by the two doors, and Prince Steven Rogers, all left the father and son alone in the room. 

“Anthony...”

Tony glared at his father, slamming his fist down on the hard oak table, “You always said that I was to marry the son of a King. Stephen is! He’s the son of the Dragon King, which makes him royalty!”

“That is enough!” His father roared, on his feet now too. 

Tony shook his head, glaring into the table as his father took his seat once more with a sigh. 

“You are a Prince.”

“So I’m not allowed to be happy?” Tony spat. 

“I didn’t say that.”  
“You think Prince Rogers cares about me? Truly cares? He doesn’t give a rat’s ass-“  
“I will not hear you talk of Prince Steven in such a manner!”

“You’ll hear a lot more of it if you force me to marry that...that...” Tony was so furious he couldn’t get his words out.   
He gripped his wrist tightly, “A couple of months ago-“

“Prince Steven-“  
“Just listen to me!”  
“That is enough, Anthony!”

Tony stared at his father. 

“You will take Prince Rogers around the kingdom. You WILL stay by his side and you WILL escort him where he wants to go and tomorrow you and he WILL be wed.”  
“Tomorrow?!”  
“The sooner the better!”

Something within Tony broke. 

He walked over to his father, who refused to look at him, “If my happiness means so little to you, if the love I have for Stephen doesn’t mean anything at all to you, why the hell did you bring me to that Dragon to resurrect me in the first place if you’re just going to send me to my death anyway?”

King Howard looked up at his son, shocked by his words.   
“Anth-“  
He didn’t have the strength to finish saying his son’s name. 

Tony gave him a disappointed look and rushed out of the room, leaving him alone. 

King Howard sank into his chair, a hand on his forehead. 

Had he been too hard on his son?

All he wanted was for Anthony to be happy, and Wong had told him his happiness would be achieved with Prince Steven Rogers. 

But Anthony wasn’t happy.   
Anthony was in love with Stephen. 

Seeing them dancing together last night had made his heart ache.   
And getting answers from Wong was like pulling teeth, his Sorcerer deciding to remain silent at Howard’s questions:

What if Stephen is the one who his son was meant to be with?

What had he done to his son’s future?

 

Tony burst through the doors of the dining hall, his foot kicking against something which had been placed on the floor in front of them.  
He watched it skid along the stone floor before running after it and picking it up.   
It was a short dagger with an intricate ruby hilt and matching sheath, the S for the Stark family sigil eligible in dark weaving metal. 

Tony narrowed his eyes at it.   
The rubies looked strange.   
They weren’t clear, and had a shine to them as if light was being absorbed into them instead of bouncing off.   
He suddenly dropped the blade back onto the floor. 

Those weren’t rubies. 

They were Dragon scales. 

Baby Dragon scales, judging from their size. 

Tony wiped his hands against his chest as he looked down at the horrid weapon which had come loose from its sheath

The blade was made of the same dark metal, but also had two large curves on either side of it. 

He’d hazard a guess this was Rogers’ Christmas gift that he had left for him to trip over. 

No one else would get him something like this. 

Had this been the reason for the Dragon attack Rogers had written to him about?  
Had King Joseph been killed all because his son had wanted to craft this horrid weapon?  
Tony had read about how weapons like these were decorated.   
How the scales had to be carved from the Dragon while the creature was still alive in order for them to retain their shine. 

Of course he’d made the mistake of reading such things as a child and had been haunted by nightmares because of them. 

Tony shuddered.   
Stephen.   
It had always been Stephen in his nightmares. 

He looked back down at the weapon. He’d rather not touch the ‘gift’ again, but on the other hand having two weapons on him rather than one would prove useful.   
Tony hesitantly picked up the dagger once more and clipped the sheath to his sword belt, not noticing Wong watching him as he walked out of the castle. 

Wong was glad to have gotten to the dagger last night before it could get lost in the large amount of gifts still around the Christmas tree.   
He knew Prince Anthony wouldn’t have wanted the gift if Prince Steven had given it to him face to face, or with knowing what was decorating it, but he would need it for today. 

Wong quickly made a portal back to the tower.   
There were many branches leading away from the prince’s destiny on this day.   
Even equipping the prince with two weapons would not be enough to keep him safe. 

“Wong.”

Stephen was standing against his desk; looking rather small with his cloak on the prince instead of himself, his arms crossed against his chest, “What happened while I was away?”

“What makes you think something happened?”  
“Because the Prince has been sleeping in my bed.”  
“I didn’t think you would mind so much, Stephen.”  
“I don’t!”  
“Don’t you now?”

Stephen sighed as he sat back down at his desk. He should have known he wasn’t going to get a straight answer from Wong.   
The man knew everything and said nothing and that didn’t help his case with Tony. 

He’d always come to Stephen with his troubles, worries and injuries, so what was ailing his love couldn’t be anything small like that. 

Stephen had tried to wrack his brain as to what else could make Tony not want to tell him something, but aside from Tony’s one remark about why they’d stopped having baths together on the night of their birthday, nothing came to mind. 

His mind focused on that night.   
He remembered he had grabbed Tony’s hand and Tony hadn’t pulled away until they had to say goodbye, so something had to have happened after he left.   
But the only difference between the night of Tony’s birthday and the Christmas Eve party when he had come back was Rogers. 

Rogers and his tactless remarks about dancing in Tony’s...

Stephen’s blood ran cold. 

If he had tried...  
If Rogers had dare try anything...

“Stephen?”

Stephen looked over at Wong, his glowing eyes casting a bright blue light on him in the dim room, “What did he do to him?”

Stephen’s voice was deeper, each word articulated by blue flames flaring out of his mouth. 

He didn’t care about trying to control himself any longer.   
The fire raging within him was a destructive force to be reckoned with and he was going to unleash it on the one who had hurt Tony. 

Wong didn’t say anything.  
Or at the very least didn’t get a chance to. 

One moment Stephen was glaring up at him as if he were just barely holding himself back from ripping his throat out with his bare hands, and the next the desk was empty and the door was hanging open off its hinges. 

~.~

Well, this wasn’t how Tony expected the day to go. 

He’d gone to the court yard to meet with Rogers for their outing when he saw him standing by the castle gate by himself waiting for him. 

Tony’s gut had lurched when he realised they would be by themselves during this walk into the middle of the woods with no one around for miles and he quickly ordered the first group of guards he saw to accompany them so he’d at least have back up should Rogers try anything. 

He’d expected them to wander the wood for a couple of hours and then somehow leave him there while his guards distracted him. 

That is until Rogers stopped dead after an hour of walking in silence and the four guards stopped as well before he did, making dread crawl up Tony’s spine as he realised he was out numbered. 

“Tony, there is something you must know about your Sorcerer. That man is not human, he is a Dragon!”

Tony tried to think of a reply but his mind was still reeling from the shock of Rogers having somehow learned of Stephen’s secret. 

Had someone told him?  
It wouldn’t have been his father, he had always been very protective of Stephen’s true heritage, and Wong never spoke to anyone who wasn’t Stephen or part of the royalty he served. 

His eyes slid back to the men dressed in the armour of his castle guards. 

How long had they been here learning the ins and outs of his kingdom?  
The day after his birthday?  
Longer?

Rogers seemed to take Tony’s thought processing as a stunned silence at the news. 

“But fear not, you will be safe from him, in Azule.”

“I am not going to Azule with you.” Tony said in a low voice, his hand reaching for his sword.   
One of the guards saw him and quickly slipped an arm around his neck, pressing a sharp blade against the skin of his throat before he could draw it.   
He recognised the peculiar detail of the curved edges along its blade and his hand inched to the dagger still clasped on his sword belt. 

“You will be safe and happy there while my men deal with him and any other Dragons they find that you’ve been hiding.”

Tony’s thumb brushed the hilt of the dagger

“Really? Safe and happy? You know who I associate those words with, Rogers? Stephen!”

Tony pulled the dagger from its sheath and stabbed it through the cloak into the folds of armour of the man behind him.   
The guard yelled and let him go instantly as he twisted the blade before ripping it out with some difficulty, the man falling to the ground as his three comrades ran to his aid. 

Rogers turned to him, and Tony did not like what he saw in those blue eyes.   
The darkness residing there bringing back the memory of that stormy night. 

Tony felt a shiver run through him that had nothing to do with the cold. 

“You knew? You knew he was a Dragon and yet you love him anyway? You would choose that murdering beast over me? Why?” Rogers demanded, drawing his own sword, “Why him?”

Rogers ran forward as Tony brought his dagger up to block the blow, the ring of metal echoing around them as Rogers glared at the cloak around Tony’s shoulders, wrinkling his nose in disgust, “His very existence is a lie! His name, his appearance, his love he says he has for you! Leave him behind and take my hand instead.”

Tony threw his weight behind his blade, effectively pushing Rogers away from him, “If you persist in insulting Stephen, my blade will take your hand!”  
He reached for his sword again but Rogers was running at him once more.   
The weapons clashed, this time accompanied by a dark chuckle from Rogers, his eyes fixed on Tony’s chest, “How intense...just like a flame!”

The three remaining guards who were beside the one Tony had killed were back on their feet, drawing their own swords and running into the fray. 

Using the short blade, he parried a long one, locking one of the dagger’s hooks into one of the sword’s and driving it into another man as he stabbed the first in the neck, effectively killing two men before his arms were grabbed and hauled behind his back by the third before he could retract it. 

Tony struggled against the man who held him as Rogers sheathed his sword and stood before him.   
He managed to get one arm free, smacking his elbow back into the guard’s face before ripping the sheath of the dagger off his belt with the intention of back handing Rogers in the face with it, but before he could do anything, Rogers grabbed his wrist tightly. 

And Tony froze, the sheath dropping into the snow.   
No. Not this again.   
He couldn’t move.   
His breathing was coming out sharper as his body went into a panic, lightning crackling behind his eyes. 

“S-Stop!” Tony managed out. 

“Oh, Tony.” Rogers sighed, grabbing him by his hair with his other hand and forcing him to look up at him, seemingly unfazed by Tony’s extreme change in behaviour, “Even with your cold words and your insistence that you love that beast, you still own my heart. All I ask is yours in return. I could have your kingdom and I could have your body, but my conquest over you won’t be complete until I have your heart. Only then will you be mine completely.”

Rogers was leaning in and all Tony knew was that he didn’t want him anywhere near him, managing to kick his leg out and hit Rogers in the knee cap.   
The grip on his wrist loosened and the darkness faded as his breaths returned to normal.   
Instantly upon seeing Rogers kneeling before him, he brought his fist back and punched him.   
Blood splattered on the ground and a moment later large tendrils of fire erupted out of it, pushing everyone out into different directions. 

Stephen was by Tony’s side in an instant, his eyes glowing furiously and his hands dancing through the air controlling the spell. 

“Tony! I’ll get you out of here!”  
“No way I can fight too!”

The spell disintegrated immediately as Stephen pulled Tony into him, Tony’s eyes were so wide and beautiful and his lips were parted slightly.   
Stephen leant in a little before stilling himself.   
He had to focus. 

“I know you can.” He panted, pulling a ring from a pocket in his robes, “But this isn’t about that. This is about your survival. You need to trust me.”  
He began to move his arm in a circular motion, but to Stephen’s confusion, nothing happened. 

“Just don’t kill him, I don’t want to start a war.”

“What part of ‘trust’ don’t you understand? Why isn’t this working?”  
Again he swirled his arm through the air, but no portal appeared. 

“I do trust you, it’s just that you can get a little defensive sometimes.”

Rogers groaned as he got back to his feet, drawing their attention away from another.   
Tony gripped the handle of his sword, prepared to fight by Stephen’s side, but Stephen rested his hand atop his own to stop him from drawing it. 

“I’ll distract him. Just run. Run!”  
“Come with me!”  
“I’ll be right behind you, go!”

Tony didn’t argue.   
He pulled himself away from Stephen and took off down the path he had travelled, Stephen watching him go before drawing his attention to Rogers. 

He could feel his Dragonfire bubbling in his chest at the sight of him, wanting nothing more than to be released and turn him into charcoal for the pain he had caused Tony. 

“What are you doing here, you disgusting creature!” Rogers grabbed his sword once more, “You were meant to be at the castle!”

Stephen didn’t reply.   
He was staring at something red in the snow where Tony had been standing.   
He couldn’t tell what it was from here, but every one of his instincts was telling him to keep away from it. 

“So you’re his knight in shining armour now? Is that it?” Rogers laughed, drawing Stephen’s attention back to him, “That is rich coming from a murdering beast such as yourself! No matter how clean you think your hands are by sparing a few lives here and there, the blood of your past still remains, and I won’t let you soil Prince Anthony with them any longer!”

“Shut. Up.” Stephen growled, his magic sparking at his fingertips. 

“Did he tell you he kissed me? He was upset about you not being there and turned to me for comfort. I held him in my arms and brushed away his tears and he kissed me. He even pulled me down on top of him as we lay on his bed. Oh, the noises he made that night...”

“You’re a liar!” Stephen snarled. 

Rogers smirked at the anger on Stephen’s face, “The prince belongs to me, he is to marry me, as it was always meant to be.   
Anthony Rogers...it has such a sweet sound to it. Having the prince with the Dragonfire heart in my court will do wonders for my reputation, and on our wedding night he will forget all about you. Maybe I’ll have you bound and gagged in our room so you can watch it for yourself? So you can hear his moans and cries of pleasure as I take him right in front of you.”

Stephen’s orange magic suddenly flared bright blue, his eyes glowing brilliantly as he stared down his enemy.   
He’d kill him.   
No matter what Tony had said, he’d kill him and be rid of him once and for all. 

“There it is! There’s the murderer you were hiding!”   
Rogers’ grip on his sword tightened, “Look at yourself! I can smell the stench of death that follows you like a shadow, it sickens me! I’ll make sure to let Tony know you died a quick death when I’m holding him in my arms tonight.”

~.~

Tony ran through the wood, the only sound around him was the crunching snow under his feet. 

He had to get back to the castle and warn his father about Rogers and the attack that could take place at any moment. 

What if it had already happened?  
What if it was happening right now?

Tony looked behind him, hoping to see Stephen following him, when he tripped over a snow covered root, making him lose his balance and slip from the path and down the incline into the frozen river that ran below it, his shoulder slamming into a large sharp rock jutting out from the surface. 

Tony gritted his teeth as his shoulder flared, blood smearing against the ice as he slid to a stop, the ice creaking beneath him. 

“Ahhh...shit.” Tony groaned as he pushed himself up with his good arm, halting his movements immediately when he heard a loud crack from under him. 

The ice suddenly buckled under his weight and Tony was plunged down into the freezing water, the air getting knocked clean out of his lungs as he went under.   
There was a tug from the cloak, which had become snagged between two pieces of reforming ice, and he grabbed hold of the material that was keeping him from sinking or floating away further down the river, his shoulder screaming. 

He broke the surface, gasping for air, his numb hands trying to heave his body out of the water as the material of the cloak strained from his weight, the edge that was his lifeline beginning to rip. 

Finally, he managed to haul himself up out of the water back onto the ice, his body cold and wet and shaking. 

He lay there struggling to breathe in the freezing air, his hands cupped against his chest trying to draw warmth from the fire within, the ice creaking threateningly.   
One move, one untimed breath and he’d be back in, and he wasn’t sure the cloak would survive him taking another dip. 

He was stuck and exhausted, the only warmth he could barely feel was that of his blood still slowly seeping out of the wound in his shoulder. 

Tony closed his eyes.   
He’d just rest for a minute.   
Just a minute. 

It was then he felt the cloak around him lift up, tearing the still trapped corner off of itself and wrap around him.   
He felt the ice beneath him turn into solid ground as he was carried to the safety of the river bank and gentle hands held him as Tony stumbled into Stephen’s side. 

He was always so warm. 

“Tony! Are you alright?”

His eyes were fixed on Tony’s half lidded ones, hands on his cheeks that seemed to be spreading warmth through the rest of his shaking body, easing his chattering teeth enough so he could get a coherent sentence out. 

“You didn’t kill him, did you?”

Stephen shook his head, “No, if I had I wouldn’t have made it to you in time.”

Tony nodded, resting his head against Stephen’s chest as his warm arms wrapped around him. 

“In there.” Stephen nodded ahead of them and Tony looked to see a huge beautiful waterfall, frozen magnificently. 

“We can get you warm in there.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One more chapter to go everyone!
> 
> I hope you’re prepared. 
> 
> And I hope you enjoy!


	5. Chapter 5

Tony entered the hidden cove behind the waterfall with Stephen supporting his shaking body, trying to steal as much warmth from him as possible. 

The cove was small with barely enough room for Stephen to stand up straight, but it was safe and they were well hidden should Rogers decide to come this way. 

Tony’s body shivered violently and Stephen let go of him briefly as his hands moved through the air, orange light dancing around them.   
With the spell completed he passed it to Tony, who watched in amazement as it disintegrated at his touch and warmth instantly spread through him, building slowly as if someone had kindled the Dragonfire within him.

He sighed in relief as his body temperature climbed, easing the shivers away under his now damp clothing. 

“Let me take a look at your shoulder.”

Tony nodded, unfastening the cloak that had saved his life with his good hand and letting it drop to the ground, stealing a quick look at his blood soaked arm.   
Stephen helped Tony remove his shirt, his eyes sliding over the bruises and bite marks he had left on his skin last night. 

He felt pride at his marks still being there, and an urge to run over them a second time to make sure they wouldn’t fade anytime soon. 

He cleared his throat and quickly fixed his gaze on the wound before Tony could ask what was taking him so long, although judging by that smirk, he already knew what was going through Stephen’s mind. 

He could see the bone through all the red trickling down Tony’s skin.   
Placing both hands on his shoulder, he pushed the skin away slightly, trying to be as gentle as possible.   
The bone wasn’t broken, but he could see tiny fragments of it had broken off.

He tried to focus on his dragonfire, tried to draw from the lessons he’d been sent away from Tony’s side to learn, but had never mastered.   
If he could control it he could heal this within a matter of seconds.  
Then again if he’d had control of it in the first place none of this would have happened. 

Stephen sighed.   
It was no use.   
His fire was destructive, no good had ever come of it.   
Maybe there was no healing fire within him.   
Maybe that trait had skipped over him. 

Stephen looked away from the wound only for his eyes to meet Tony’s.   
They were soft and sparkling in the shards of rainbow light gleaming through the frozen water.   
They rested on his lips before sliding back up to meet his once more, a silent question he already knew the answer to. 

“Prince Anthony!”

Stephen pushed Tony into the wall of their hiding place, shielding him with his body and looking out of the small gap between the rock face and frozen waterfall as Prince Rogers’ voice echoed through the silent wood, a deep growl rumbling in his throat. 

“Prince Anthony!” He called again, Stephen and Tony remaining silent while they waited for him to move on. 

His dark blue robes were the perfect camouflage it would seem as he watched Rogers move away from the river bank to continue into the wood. 

Satisfied they were alone once more, Stephen began pulling himself away from Tony.   
“I believe he has left.”

He felt the touch of Tony’s hand on his own, and his heart began to thrum harder in his chest. 

“Stephen...Did he...What did he say to you?” Tony wasn’t looking at him, “You said you’d be right behind me, and you weren’t, so what did he say?”

Stephen didn’t like this hollow tone his prince was using, as if whatever memory that was playing behind his eyes was draining all the life from him. 

“He told me that he comforted you when you were crying because you missed me.”

“That’s not all though. Is it.”

“No.” Stephen said gently, trying to catch Tony’s eye but failing, “He also told me there was a kiss involved.”

Tony was quiet, still avoiding eye contact with him, looking lost and wet. 

“Tony...”  
“Don’t leave.”

Stephen was confused by his words. 

“I’m not going-“  
“Don’t leave me again.”  
“Tony. I’m right here I’m not going anywhere. Ever again.”

“But what if you do? Rogers was here for months when you weren’t. And every time I saw him I just wanted him to be you. I wanted him to say the things you would say and do the things you would do, but he didn’t. And then...when he kissed me...I knew it wasn’t you. Every part of me knew. He wanted me to pretend it was you, he wanted to take your place and he never could because you...you would never...He wouldn’t stop. I kept telling him to and he wouldn’t stop!”

Stephen felt his fire rise up and he tried to push it back down, “We’ll tell King Howard-“

Tony shook his head, “I already tried! I tried to this morning but he wouldn’t listen to me! I tried to tell him because I...”

Stephen could see Tony’s shoulders shaking, the hand by his side clenching into a fist as the one still holding his hand began to slip from his grasp.   
He tightened his grip to make sure that did not happen.   
He didn’t want Tony pulling away from him again.   
He wanted to show him he’d always be there, no matter what. 

Tony took a deep breath, biting his lower lip, which just made Stephen fix on it, Stephen’s heart beating so fast in his chest he thought it might give out before he got the chance to hear what Tony had to say. 

“Because I-I love you..”

Why had Tony spoken the words he had longed to hear like it had hurt him to say them out loud?

And that’s when those eyes finally looked up at him.   
Those beautiful eyes he couldn’t get enough of, that found him when he felt lost, that crinkled when he smiled at him and that always had a light in them whenever they saw him. 

The glow from his own eyes were reflected in their shining depths. 

Tony reached up and placed his hand on Stephen’s cheek, “I always have.”

A beat between them and they moved at the same time into a kiss, Tony gripping his robes tightly as if he thought Stephen was going to fade away from him, pressing his tongue insistently into his mouth. 

Stephen groaned while his free hand glided up to press into the back of Tony’s neck, playing with the damp curls as the hand that was still holding Tony’s laced their fingers together. 

It ended abruptly however when Stephen pushed him back into the rocky wall and Tony cried out when his injured shoulder grazed it. 

“Sorry.” He panted, resting his forehead on Tony’s. 

Tony shook his head with a smile “It’s alright.” 

Stephen was unable to stop a smile of his own at the pure happiness on his love’s face. 

“We had best get going, we are still quite far from the castle.”  
“I thought you could make portals now?”  
“I can, but my sling ring doesn’t appear to be working.”

Tony looked down at his hand clasped in his own, his grin becoming wider, “Stephen...have you even looked at it?”

Stephen pulled his hand up, “Why what’s wrong-“

Stephen stared at the ring on his finger. 

It wasn’t his sling ring. 

“This is...your father’s wedding ring.”  
“It is.”  
“It was meant for Rogers.”  
“It was.”  
“Tony...When did you put that in my pocket?”

Tony just gave him a sheepish grin. 

Stephen fished around in his pocket for his sling ring “I just wish I had a ring of my own to give to you.” 

“Or you could just give me your answer.”  
“You think my answer would be anything else but a yes?”  
“I’d still like to hear it.”

Orange sparks flared out before them, swirling into a portal.   
Stephen held his hand out to his prince, “Yes, Tony. A million times yes.”

Tony took his hand and Stephen lead him through the portal, Tony’s shirt and Stephen’s cloak floating through behind them before the portal closed. 

“Why did you make a portal to my room? We have to go see my father.”

Stephen guided Tony to his bed and made him sit down on it.

“Stephen. Last night was great and everything, but-“

“You’re bleeding, Tony.” Stephen deadpanned back. 

A pair of black pants and a white button up shirt dropped on the bed beside him out of one portal while a roll of bandage cloths dropped from another. 

Tony was up on his feet as Stephen conjured a threaded needle to stitch his wound closed. 

“We don’t have time for this!”  
“You won’t have an arm for long if it gets infected.”  
“Then I’ll still have one more arm than Rogers when I’m through with-“

Stephen was right in front of him, blocking his way to the door and refusing to move, his eyes glowing furiously bright. 

Tony slowly sat back down on the bed, “Two arms are better than one, that’s what I always say! Come on, what are you waiting for?”

 

Stephen worked in silence while Tony’s hands fidgeted on his lap and once the wound was cleaned, stitched and bandaged much faster than Tony thought it was going to take, Stephen helped him into the dry clothes he had picked out for him. 

“My father should be in the Throne Room.” Tony said, finally opening his bedroom door, “I just hope-“

The rest of his sentence became a shocked yell as he leapt back, an injured Wong crashing to the floor, his red robes dark with blood. 

Stephen and Tony helped him rest against the wall, his shallow breathing echoing in Stephen’s mind as he pulled the robes away from the deep bleeding wound in his teacher’s stomach. 

“Wong...”  
“Everything that has happened, has happened for a reason.” Wong managed out, “Everything had to...had to happen to reach this point.”  
“Let me help you.”  
“No.”  
“Wong, you’ll die if-“  
“There is no future for me after this day, Stephen.”

Stephen wiped at his eyes.   
That couldn’t be true.

“You need to listen to me. Get to the throne room. The King is there-“

“I’m not going to leave you here to die!” Stephen choked out. 

He had already lost one father.   
How could he...

Stephen began conjuring a portal but stopped when Wong raised his hand, taking it instantly, “You must remember what you have been taught about your Dragonfire, Stephen. How to control it...and how to perceive it.”

Stephen shook his head, “I could never master my Dragonfire. It never came when I wanted it to and I can barely keep it under control!”

“The chance to choose will come, and when it does...should you make the right choice...a bright future lays before you.”

He then leaned towards his prince, whispering something in his ear that made Tony’s eyes wide as he stared at the dying Sorcerer. 

Wong leaned back against the wall smiling at him, and then at Stephen, his eyes beginning to drift closed.

Wong hardly ever smiled. 

The hand loosened its grip, and Wong’s body went limp as he expelled his last breath. 

Stephen bowed his head, resting Wong’s hand back down on his chest.

And then he looked up at his prince. 

His prince; who had the same anger burning in his eyes as he did. 

Tony was up and running to the throne room, Stephen hot on his heels.   
There was blood smeared on the walls and in pools on the floor, dripping down the stairs as Tony took two at a time, trying not to look at the faces of his dead guards and servants. 

His shoulder was complaining about being moved, and he could already feel his bandages were becoming damp and sticky, but he didn’t care.   
He had to find his father. 

They burst into the throne room and were immediately set upon by a small army of Azule knights.   
Tony cried out as his injured arm was pulled behind his back, the stitches Stephen had sewn so carefully into his skin ripping as blood slowly soaked into his clean shirt.   
Stephen was forced to the floor while a thick metal collar was locked around his neck. 

Small runes etched into the metal lit up instantly and Stephen knew what they meant. 

What kind of creature this collar was for. 

They were forced to the center of the throne room where the King was being forced to kneel before Rogers, who was sitting lazily on the throne.   
Tony was pushed closer to Rogers while Stephen was held back with his King, his dragonfire bubbling in his throat and making the collar heat up against his skin. 

“Ahhhh, there you are Prince Anthony. I looked all over for you!”

Rogers stood and made his way down to the prince as one of the men holding Tony kicked the back of his legs, making him fall to his knees.

“You had me worried.”

“Couldn’t have been too worried if you’ve already subdued my father, killed his Sorcerer and taken the throne when we only just got back.” Tony sneered back at him. 

“I simply came to see how the cleansing was going. I would have bet my entire kingdom that that other Sorcerer was a Dragon too. Him and your father of course, but the collar didn’t react to him.”

Tony glared up at him. 

“That’s what the collar is for. That’s how we deal with monsters in-“

“The only ‘Monster’ I see here is you!”

Rogers was close now, much too close for anyone’s liking. 

“Where do you get that fire from?” His hands were on Tony’s chest, pulling his shirt down and gazing at the blue flame under the skin as he ran his fingers over it, “The flames of your heart ignite a passion within you that makes your eyes sparkle and leaves me powerless against your quick wit and temper. I’ve been burned by it numerous times and still I find myself coming back for more.”

Tony was trying to shuffle Rogers’ unwanted hands off of him, but they instead traveled up to his set jaw, his thumb running over his bottom lip. 

Stephen shoved at the men holding him to no effect; trying to draw his Dragonfire out but it couldn’t get past the collar. 

Steve smiled, “No one speaks to me the way you do. No one owns my heart but you. And no one deserves you but me. Only me.” And he pulled Tony up into a kiss.

Tony’s eyes went wide, his body struggled to pull away, and as he felt the brush of a tongue against his lips, the man who had hold of Tony’s injured arm pulled at it, making Tony yell out in pain, which was quickly consumed by Rogers. 

And Stephen saw red. 

His entire body shook with rage as his dragonfire built stronger and stronger, the collar around his neck glowing.   
His back spasmed and his nails dug into his palms until they bled, his teeth clenched as they began to lengthen.   
His bones began to shift, his body steadily growing larger and longer, his robes tearing and straining.   
He could feel the men holding him begin to weaken their grip, could hear King Howard muttering something to him as his rounded pupils narrowed into slits, still fixed on Tony. 

HIS Tony. 

Stephen threw his body back, expelling the men off of him as his wings snapped open. 

He was a Dragon once more. 

His fire erupted out of his mouth with ease, his crystal scales glowing in its light as he burned the men holding King Howard captive, barely missing the King himself. 

He whipped his tail at the men who dare try to attack him and slashed his claws at their pathetic armour.   
There were screams and war cries, men missing limbs and the smell of cooked flesh surrounding him. 

Oh, how he’d missed this. 

He turned, another burst of Dragonfire ready in his throat, only to see Tony looking up at him. 

He stopped. 

That look...

Something sharp pierced his leg and he roared, grabbing the one who had attacked him in his jaws and ripping him in half.   
Another pain in his other side and he took flight, zig zagging through the air until the man still clinging to him fell off.   
The weapons were still in him and had cut him right into the bone.   
They were unlike any he had ever dealt with before; thick blades with sharp hooks along the sides that would make removing them a lot more painful and cause a lot more damage. 

Across the room, Steve and Tony were locked in a sword fight. 

“This!” Rogers yelled over the screams of his men as his sword clashed with Tony’s, “This is what I wanted to spare you from. This is why I wanted to take you to Azule!”

“So you could kill my servants? And Wong?! Were you going to kill my father too?” Tony demanded, slicing his sword along the edge of the other’s to attack, sparks flying off the metal. 

“They all deserved to die!”

Tony stared at him in horror. 

“They allowed you to grow up loving that disgusting creature! He could have easily changed back into his Dragon form and killed you! They didn’t care about you or your safety! Not like I do!”  
“Ohhh so THAT’S why you attacked me in woods!”  
“The guards were there for your protection!”  
“And this, right now, this is you protecting me is it?”

Tony missed a block and felt the sword slice along his arm, tearing through the bloody mess his shirt was already. 

“I wanted you safe while my Dragon Knights killed that beast!”

Tony’s shoulder was making it more and more difficult to keep fighting, his movements becoming sluggish as he was cut once again. 

“And then you would finally see how much I love you!”  
His sword came down again and Tony managed to block it. 

“That is bullshit Rogers and you know it!” Tony kicked him away, “You’re obsessed with my Dragonfire and that is it! You don’t love me at all! And your men have weapons that can pierce through a Dragon’s hide, but the first thing they did when they had Stephen was lock a collar around his neck! You didn’t want to kill him, you wanted to take him back to Azule and lock him up like a dog!”

“You’re quick wit shines again! I’m impressed! Yes, I was going to take him back to Azule. You seemed to like my dagger so much I thought I’d make you some armour out his scales!” Rogers spat, swinging his sword at Tony once more as Tony raised his own to defend himself from the oncoming blow. 

A metallic clatter made Stephen turn in the air as Tony’s sword broke in half and his prince fell to floor gripping his injured arm, Rogers standing over him.   
It was in this moment, as Stephen’s attention was focused on the two princes, a spear flew up into the air and pierced right through the bone of Stephen’s left wing, ripping the appendage off of his body. 

Stephen screamed, his one wing unable to keep his weight airborne and he crashed down, his body sliding to a stop as blood pooled from his back. 

“The ever faithful servant returns!” Rogers jeered as Tony dragged himself over to Stephen, his injured arm hanging limp in his lap.   
His prince was covered in blood, most of it his own from the scent, and there were numerous wounds on his body. 

“Stephen!” Tony sounded worried, and his voice sounded distant, “Stephen you have to heal yourself! Do you hear me?”

He felt Tony’s gentle hand on his muzzle and he leaned into the touch.

“I see it now.” Rogers muttered, looking down at the pair, “I see now you could never love me. But you are no paragon of virtue yourself!”

The hand upon him stilled

“He has killed hundreds of innocents and yet you caress that terrible creature like a lover! You love this vermin that plagues our lands but can’t find it in yourself to love one who already loves you?”

Tony’s dark laughter resonated off the walls as he began to push himself back up to his feet, Stephen lifting his head to help him. 

Tony glared at the man before him, “Stephen and I have been together through everything life has thrown at us! We have been there for one another when we felt no one was.   
We have suffered together, fought together.   
There isn’t a damn thing in this world that could keep us from another!   
You think he’s a threat, I think he’s extraordinary.   
You think he is some kind of creature; something dirty and foul and beneath you and you’re wrong!  
You want me to love you after what you’ve done here today? After what you’ve taken from us? You call him a monster for his past but can’t even see what you yourself have become!”

Tony paused to take a breath. 

“And if you thought our wedding night would have been another trophy to add to your collection of conquests, Stephen has already won that prize.”

Rogers stared at him, shock and anger fighting each other on his face, “You threw away your purity!”

“Twice.” Tony smirked, snatching the dagger Rogers had on his belt, his enemy seeing his movement at the last second and leaping back from Tony’s attack. 

Stephen’s eyes widened at the weapon in Tony’s hand, it’s blade the same his hide and wing had been pierced with, but with one glaring difference.   
The one Tony had in his hand, the one Prince Rogers had had on him, was made out of Dragon bone. 

Crystal Dragon bone. 

Stephen’s body shook as he tried to get up, instantly regretting it as agonising pain shot up his back from where his wing had been.

But he could deal with it. 

He had to get that dagger away from Tony. 

Away from himself. 

It was the same. 

It was from the exact same Crystal Dragon who’s fire burned in Tony’s chest. 

He snarled as he tried again, feeling the hooked edges still in his sides dig deeper and force him back down again.   
The pain from his wing was manageable, but he was useless unless he could get those weapons out. 

Stephen swung his head to the weapon sticking out of him on his right side, taking the long handle in his jaws and pulling.   
He almost bit the long pole in half as he felt it shift against his bone, the hooks digging further into him.   
He tried again, blood oozing out of the wound around it.   
He could feel his flesh tearing as the hooks dragged along it, finally tugging it free and throwing it far away from him, a couple of large crystal scales clattering to the floor as they fell away from his body.   
Now for the other one.

He felt someone place their hand upon him, and his eyes found King Howard, his other hand on the weapon’s handle. 

Stephen nodded his head, and King Howard began to pull.   
He gritted his teeth, bright blue flames escaping from the sides of his mouth in short bursts.   
Another pull, then again, but the blade refused to let go.   
Howard gripped the handle with both hands and ripped the long blade out. 

Stephen roared in pain, his bleary vision finding a smudge of red and white he knew to be Tony. 

Stephen’s clawed paws slipped in the pool of his own blood as he tried in vain to get to his feet.   
Tony needed him. 

He felt Howard’s hand on him again, trying to still him, trying to tell him to rest, but Stephen wasn’t paying attention. 

“Listen to me, Stephen!” Howard yelled, pressing the hooked blade he had just pulled from the Dragon against its neck. 

Stephen stopped, a rumble in his throat. 

The blade wedged under the collar links, the hooks grabbing hold of them and ripping the collar off Stephen with a single pull. 

Howard threw the weapon along with the collar away from him with a look of disgust before turning back to him, “You need to change back into a human. You need to Stephen. Tony won’t forgive you if you die.”

Stephen stared at him as Howard gave him a smile, before he raised his sword to block an Azule knight’s attack on the downed Dragon. 

“I will protect you, but you must change back!” Howard yelled as two more knights joined in the fight. 

He had to change back.   
But how?   
It had been easy to turn into a Dragon with the collar’s help, but he had no idea how to change back or even if he could. 

He focused on the battle between Tony and Rogers, his vision clearing. 

Rogers had been knicked a few times by the blade and Tony seemed to be relying on pure adrenaline to fight, slashing this way and that mercilessly. 

“I knew he was a Dragon the moment I set foot in this castle!” Rogers mocked, “His stink was everywhere it was almost gagging. But you never smelled like him until today.”

One slash tore through his arm, another right across his chest, but it didn’t matter.   
All that mattered was looking into those fiery brown eyes. 

“I thought it was just that rag you were wearing, but I can smell him on you even now!”

Tony swung at him more fervently, “Shut up, Rogers!”

The blade tore through the air right in front of his face and he quickly stepped back. 

“Wong told me before he passed. He told me you were used simply as a means to an end, with that end being Stephen! Don’t you get it? We were never going to end up together! We were never going to be married! You would never have me!”

Tony swung the blade but Rogers caught his wrist. 

And Tony’s entire body went numb.

“If I can’t have you, then nobody will!” Steve hissed, ripping the dagger from his hand and plunging it down into the glowing blue bullseye of Tony’s chest. 

“TONY!” Stephen roared. 

Tony’s body shuddered, his eyes wide and hororrfied as he struggled to breath around the blood that was trickling out of his mouth. 

Steve looked shocked at what he’d just done, the dagger’s handle burning into his palm before he finally managed to let it go.   
He watched as the once proudly burning blue flames gave one final flicker before they died out completely. 

Tony’s knees gave out beneath him and he hit the floor.

Stephen stared at Tony’s back, a high pitched ringing in his ears. 

What had just happened?

Why wasn’t Tony moving?

Why wasn’t he breathing?

He couldn’t be...

He wasn’t...

Stephen dragged himself to him, uncaring as pain flared through the numbness in his mind. 

Rogers backed away from Tony’s body before running out of the room, the few knights left yelling at each other to fall back and follow him. 

He ran, and Stephen let him run, his eyes fixed solely on Tony.

He was just exhausted from all the fighting.

He had to be. 

King Howard fell to his knees beside his son. 

Still, Stephen stared at his love; watching for a breath, a sign that life still flowed through the one who held his heart. 

Hoping. 

Praying. 

King Howard gently pushed him until he rested on his back. 

His face was peaceful, just as it had been that morning while he had been sleeping beside him. 

That’s all he was doing...right?

Just sleeping. 

Just...

Just...

Howard pulled the dagger from Tony’s chest, the blood dripping from it burning into Stephen’s mind and releasing him from his numbed state. 

“DON’T TOUCH HIM!” Stephen roared, throwing his body over Tony’s and snarling at the King, who leapt away from him.

Stephen drew himself back, pulling Tony’s body with him.   
He couldn’t sense his heartbeat.   
And the flames of his father were no longer burning. 

He nudged his face delicately, Tony remaining unresponsive. 

He tried again, a little harder this time. 

Nothing. 

He gathered the human up, supporting his upper body, his eyes closing at the way Tony’s head lolled limply over his dragon’s paw. 

And Stephen’s heart broke. 

Large tears soaked into the prince’s blood stained clothing as the Dragon wrapped around him grieved, his once raging Dragonfire soothing into a gentle flicker. 

Slowly, his body began to shrink, his glistening scales becoming skin once more, his one wing folding and moulding into his back and his now torn robes hanging loosely off of his human form in tatters. 

His human arms pulled the prince’s slumped body closer against him, resting his forehead upon Tony’s. 

“Please.” He begged, “You can’t take him from me. Not now. Please.”  
He lifted Tony’s head, closed his eyes, and touched his lips to those that for the first time weren’t kissing him back.   
He pulled at his Dragonfire gently, feeling it rise up in him once again, and as he opened Tony’s mouth with his tongue, he blew his fire down his throat. 

Howard choked back a sob at the sight.   
At how the blue flames were licking out of all the wounds and sealing them, at how his son’s skin was glowing and almost transparent. 

Stephen pulled more and more, he tore at everything he had and pushed it into his flame.   
He could feel it becoming weaker within him but he didn’t care.   
He didn’t care for the consequences. He didn’t care if it killed him. 

As long as he got to look into those brown beautiful eyes one last time. 

Stephen pulled his lips from those unresponsive as the last of his flame left his tongue and opened his eyes. 

Tony’s were still closed. 

He brushed Tony’s hair back and stroked his cheek gently, his eyes resting on the dragonfire gathered in the human’s chest. 

It had to have worked. 

It just had to. 

 

“Tony?”

Tony’s eyes flew open as he took a deep breath.   
“What the hell?” He rasped, a hand flying up to his throat, his eyes finally finding Stephen’s and squinting up at him, “Stephen?”

Stephen grinned back down at him with eyes filled with tears. 

Tony looked confusedly up at him, the hand on his throat resting over his chest. 

“I...I feel...”

Stephen suddenly became worried, “What? What do you feel?”

The confusion slowly faded into realisation, Tony’s big eyes gazing up at Stephen in wonder.   
“You.” Tony whispered, placing his hand on Stephen’s cheek and smiling up at him “I just feel you.”

And how could Stephen not kiss him after that?

He knew what bringing Tony back to him had cost.   
He had felt it when the last of his fire had left him.   
He was no longer a Dragon.   
No longer immortal.   
But as he held Tony close to him and felt his heart beating once more against his chest, he knew he would rather share this one lifetime with him than face all the ages this world had to offer alone. 

Howard wiped his tears away at the sight of them, something shining near his foot catching his attention. 

It was the ring he had given to his son yesterday, split into three pieces as if the one who had been wearing it had transformed into a Dragon. 

And it was lying beside a large crystal scale. 

He picked up the pieces of the ring and the scale and pocketed them before turning back to the two. 

So this was his son’s happiness after all.

fin

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Commenters, Kudosers, Readers.   
> We have reached the end.   
> I wish to thank each and every one of you for keeping me writing, and I hope I lived up to your expectations for this story. 
> 
> I have 2 things I wish to tell you. 
> 
> The first is the 6th chapter.   
> It is not a continuation of this story but will rather be a look into a seperate timeline where Stephen is a Dragon.   
> It was a scrapped idea that I hinted at doing but decided against it.   
> I’m still working on it as it is trapped in my brain and I can’t find the right words to release it to you guys, but it will be up in due time so if that is something you would like to read, please stay tuned!
> 
> The second thing is, well, a sequel.   
> Would you guys want to read one?  
> I’ve been tinkering with a few ideas and even though I haven’t really written anything, I do know what I want to happen and what new characters I want to introduce.   
> The sequel will have Peter, Jarvis and Mordo.   
> And it will take place 20 years after this story. 
> 
> I don’t think it will be up before the year is out and it probably won’t be as long as this story. 
> 
> Thank you all once again for the love and support you have all shown me and my story, and I hope I can still bring you more Ironstrange content in the future.


	6. My Dragonfire Week

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> PLEASE READ
> 
> First of all I would like to thank MDCBD, who’s commenting made me remember this little plot thread and what gave me the drive to work on it into the story below. 
> 
> This is a seperate story from the past 5 chapters, reworked from a half written segment which was going to be at the start of chapter 4 which I decided to cut. (and a few other ideas that never made it into the final story because I couldn’t work them in without rewriting large segments to make them fit.)
> 
> This chapter contains beastiality between a human and a Dragon.  
> If you’re not into that kinda thing, this story may not be for you.  
> Thank you

Prince Anthony Stark had always been obsessed with Dragons and everyone who knew this had found it strange that the terrible creatures who killed and ate anything from livestock to innocent people were the source of his enthusiasm. 

Well, that is to say, everyone except Queen Maria Stark. 

As a boy, his mother used to tell him stories about the creatures and would draw pictures to go along with them. 

The Queen had seen the spark in him and fueled it further by teaching him how to draw the different types that existed.  
She had even made him a soft Dragon toy, which he slept with every night until he was ten, when the visiting Prince of Azule tried to impress him by stabbing it with his sword. 

He was not impressed in the slightest and took it straight to his mother in tears, who immediately set about fixing the toy while allowing him to sit on her lap and watch the process, sniffing occasionally.

“There now!” She exclaimed, passing the fixed Dragon back to him, the stitches on its belly hardly noticeable, “He’s all fixed up. But how about we sit him on your shelf from now on? We don’t want him to get injured again, okay Tony?”

He did as she asked that night, saying goodnight to the little toy overlooking his bed before he went to sleep. 

“It’s not a good match, Howard!”

His eyes opened as he heard his mother’s voice outside his room. 

“Can’t you leave him be and let him decide on his own who he wishes to marry? I know it was decided for us, but we don’t have to continue the same traditions!”

“No other kingdom wants to come here for fear of the Dragons living in the wood. And the Crystal Dragon has been sighted with its young one stealing sheep again...”

The prince’s eyes widened.  
Crystal Dragon?  
He’d never heard of that one before. 

“-I just want Tony safe-“  
“Dragons don’t attack unless provoked and Tony would sooner befriend a Dragon than harm it, unlike Prince Rogers. The one thing that makes Tony happy is Dragons and you choose the one suitor, who’s one thing his kingdom is notorious for, is killing Dragons!”

His mother’s words broke off into a fit of deep coughs. 

“Maria-“  
“You used to be better than this, Howard. You used to be a man! Now you’re just a king.”

His mother’s health only deteriorated after that night. 

Day after day Prince Anthony was told to let his mother rest, to go and play with Prince Steven Rogers and not bother her. 

Prince Steven suggested a sparring match with their wooden swords, which would have been fun had he not cheated to win. 

“You lose!” Steven smiled as he knocked Anthony into the dirt, pulling his sword away and lending him a hand to help him back to his feet, “Wanna play again, Tony?”

By Christmas the following year, Queen Maria no longer had the strength to sketch, or the breath to tell stories.  
She lay in bed as strangers came and went from the castle, putting on a smile when her son came to visit her. 

Upon her lap was a rather large, elegant leather bound sketchbook, with a red ribbon sticking out of the middle pages.  
“Merry Christmas, Tony.” She smiled warmly as she pushed the book toward him. 

By his thirteenth birthday he was half way through the book, and spent the day he would usually be celebrating amongst a crowd of unknown guests by his mother’s side, sketching her portrait into its pages. 

 

Five days later, she passed away. 

And Prince Anthony couldn’t bring himself to even look at the sketchbook, let alone open it, keeping it hidden away in his desk. 

He focused on his studies, his duties, his sparring sessions with Rogers which he never won. 

Until one day...

 

“You’ve definitely gotten better!” Rogers grinned at him as his sword clashed against his own, “But you’ll never best me!”

The swing of a second shorter weapon came out of nowhere and stopped mere inches from Anthony’s throat. 

“You lose.” Steve panted with a smile, sheathing both weapons, “Did you want to go again or take a break?”

A break was well needed, and Prince Anthony was just about to move to the shade to rest out of the heat when a gigantic shadow passed over him. 

He looked up at the massive Dragon flying overhead, with a smaller one flying beside it. 

A breed he had never seen before, only ever heard of. 

And as Steven stood beside him scowling up at the creatures and holding him close, Anthony, now almost eighteen, felt that spark within him ignite once more. 

He would go to the library whenever he had some time to spare to research the mysterious creature, but all he had found were books upon books of the uses of every other Dragon’s scales, claws, teeth and organs.

All except one.  
A children’s story book titled ‘The Dragon Prince’ his mother used to read to him.  
He flipped through the pages before quickly shutting it. 

It was far from research. 

He had read through every book the library had to offer about Dragons after just a couple of weeks and came to the conclusion that the only way he’d get to research the Crystal Dragon was to go into the woods and do it himself. 

Or ask someone who had lived to see it. 

Which was why Prince Anthony found himself in the Sorcerer’s Tower, asking Wong about Crystal Dragons, his sketchbook open on the desk where he had been drawing the Sorcerer. 

Wong was a busy man who spoke very little and smiled even less.  
He had been in his father’s service well before the prince was born and had yet to find a replacement to take over his position. 

“Crystal Dragons?” Wong asked, his hands creating two different spells at once as he read the book laid out on the table to his left, “What about them, my prince?”

“Just..curious is all. Our books mention all sorts of Dragons but I can’t find anything about Crystal Dragons...and the king told me you got to see one up close when I asked him about them.”

“Hmmm..” Wong snapped his fingers and the spell on his right hand illuminated briefly before fizzling away. 

He turned to the prince. 

“Are you sure it’s just curiosity?”

Anthony stared at him, “What else would it be?”

“Distraction.”  
“From what? My sketching?”  
“Your wedding.”

Anthony groaned as he turned away from the Sorcerer, flipping to a clean page to begin a new sketch.

There was a reason he hadn’t gone to Prince Steven Rogers for information on the Crystal Dragon. 

It wasn’t that Azule was notorious for their hatred and hunting of Dragons and that Steven had inherited that hatred. 

It wasn’t that Anthony hadn’t missed the fact that every ‘research’ book he had read in the library had come from there, or even for what Rogers had done to his toy all those years ago. 

Anthony just couldn’t ignore that he felt absolutely nothing for the man he was to marry, no matter how much time they had spent together over the past eight years or how many kisses they shared. 

He barely thought of him as a friend, more of a nuisance who would somehow know exactly where he was hiding and beat him in every sparring session they’d ever had, always ending it with those same two words every single time. 

Steven was thrilled about being married to him, but Anthony couldn’t help but feel like there was something missing from his life and marriage wasn’t it. 

Maybe the whole Dragon thing was a distraction?  
His father, Wong and Rogers himself had all brought up that his obsession was about the very thing the Prince of Azule hated above all else numerous times when he was a child.  
Maybe it was just his way of rebelling now?

“There have been a few instances of a betrothal ending...death being the main one.”

Tony huffed a laugh, “I don’t think my father will be too happy if I murder Rogers.”

“Well, another is debt.”  
“Debt?”  
“If a kingdom is in debt to another they might strike a deal that would void the first betrothal. Also, should another save your life, your father would feel indebted to them and may give you to them.”

Anthony didn’t say anything.  
His life was never put in danger, he’d never even left the castle grounds, so for his life to be owed to another’s a week before the wedding was a fairytale.  
Plus he didn’t like how he’d be handed off to some stranger who thought marrying him was compensation for saving his life.  
He’d rather marry someone he knew, and the only person to fit that bill was Rogers.

Wong regarded him silently for a moment before releasing the spell on his other hand and sitting on the chair beside the prince. 

“A Crystal Dragon’s scales are hard and inpenetrable with any normal weapon and their flame is so hot it burns blue instead of red.  
I once saw the larger one burn an entire army that had come to try and slay it and its young one.  
By the time it stopped breathing its flame there was only a puddle of melted armour and the stink of cooked flesh with no bodies in sight. They are ancient and one of the few ancient Dragon breeds that still walk among us.  
And one of the most dangerous.”

Anthony stared at Wong with wide eyes.  
He wanted to meet one of them more than ever after hearing that. 

 

As he left the Sorcerer’s Tower, Prince Steven jumped out from behind the door and grabbed him, scaring the daylights out of him. 

“Steve! Honestly! You’ll be the death of me one day!” Anthony snapped as he clutched his chest. 

The Prince was holding out a bag to him, a wide grin on his face which faltered at the name Anthony had spoken, “I come with the best birthday, no, the best wedding present ever for you and that’s how you greet me?” 

Anthony rolled his eyes as he kissed him, snagging the bag quickly and looking inside at the largest diamond he had ever seen in his life. 

He gave Steve a confused look before pulling it out completely, the bag falling away from the rounded Dragon’s scale and landing on the floor at his feet. 

“We got the bigger one as it flew past our castle! Isn’t that fantastic! All we need to do now is get the last one that’s still roaming around and there won’t be any more Crystal Dragons left!”

Anthony was shaken to his core as he held the large Crystal Dragon scale in his hands. 

 

~ 6 Days until the wedding ~

 

Anthony was out in the garden with his sketch book and pencil, tracing every detail in the large scale carefully. 

The book had remained dormant for five years and Anthony was intent on filling the pages up before Christmas. 

He closed it as he finally finished the sketch, sliding his pencil inside the spine of it and turning it over to run a hand over the message stenciled into the worn leather. 

Merry Christmas, Tony  
May the Dragons in your mind fill these empty pages, and watch over you when I cannot.  
I love you, my little prince. 

He smiled sadly down at the message, the red ribbon between the pages flapping against his hand in the warm wind. 

He heard his name being called and Anthony half turned to see the Prince of Azule coming out of the castle.  
He quickly hid the book in the bush beside him. 

Rogers still knew nothing of the sketchbook almost filled with Dragons and Anthony didn’t want Steve to see it and force him to sketch his portrait.  
He didn’t think he could take being that close to him for that long after what he’d done to the Crystal Dragon. 

As Rogers began walking towards him a terrible shriek filled the air and, not a moment later, the last Crystal Dragon landed right in front of Anthony. 

He was awestruck by its beauty as the sunlight danced off of its golden horns and clear blue scales, all thoughts of fleeing from the creature erasing from his mind as he marveled at how they shimmered and sparkled brilliantly.  
The creature wasn’t huge, about 25 feet long or so from snout to the tip of its long sweeping tail and its wings were almost twice that, its glowing blue eyes fixed on the prince who hadn’t moved away from it. 

The Dragon growled at him, a terrorfying sound which only became louder and angrier when the creature saw he was still holding onto the scale of its father. 

Anthony held the scale out to it and the sound stopped completely, the Dragon’s eyes narrowed and suspicious. 

“I’m sorry.” 

The Dragon’s growl returned. 

“I’m so sorry.”

Those glowing irises were an arm’s length away, and as the Dragon took the scale from him, Anthony found himself reaching towards them. 

“You’re magnificent.” Anthony breathed. 

The creature blinked slowly, silent and watchful. 

The prince’s hand rested lightly upon the smooth, cool scales of the Dragon’s cheek, a low rumble almost like a purr vibrating through his fingers. 

A yell from Rogers caught both of their attention as he grabbed Anthony and yanked him away at the same time the Dragon turned its head.  
The edges of the sharp spiked frills along its jaw sliced through his hand, staining the side of the Dragon’s face with blood.

Its eyes widened at what happened, staring at the blood dripping from the human’s hand before snarling at the other human trying to drag him away from it.  
The Dragon took a step towards them before it realised that more humans were running at them with their weapons drawn. 

It gave Anthony one last, almost thoughtful look, before flapping its giant wings and taking off again as a group of castle guards ran up to the Prince to make sure he was alright. 

Anthony just looked down at his hand.  
That was probably the best birthday gift he could have ever received. 

 

~ 5 days until the wedding ~

 

Prince Rogers proposed he take his Azule Knights into the woods to kill the Dragon for daring to set foot on the castle grounds and injuring Prince Anthony, but King Howard refused. 

“If you hadn’t killed the larger one this would not have happened! Now if you or anyone else goes into those woods, you will die, and I’ll not be sending any of my men to retrieve what is left of your bodies!”

Meanwhile, locked in his room to stop any unwanted guests named Steve from barging in, Anthony was sketching the Dragon from memory. 

He etched in scales and subtle details he had noticed, using his tracing of the scale a few pages back as a reference and rubbing out lines to make them finer.  
He hadn’t gotten the creature’s eyes right.  
They needed to be more intense more...focused.  
But he couldn’t do his drawing justice as the hand that had been injured yesterday just so happened to be his sketching hand, and the pain was incredibly distracting whenever he over worked it. 

He threw the pencil down and rubbed his eyes before closing his sketch book and placing it in the draw of his desk. 

He sat for a moment, gazing down at his wrapped palm.  
The bleeding had been stopped thanks to Wong but upon cleaning it, tiny blue fragments of what looked like glass were found embedded in the wound. 

No one knew what to do, not even the Sorcerer, so it was bandaged to protect it while it healed. 

Anthony stood up from his desk to stretch his legs but it was as he did so he heard the sound of large beating wings outside. 

There were loud cries from the castle guards as the Crystal Dragon from yesterday landed on the balcony and peered in through the glass doors at him. 

Anthony was perplexed by this creature’s behaviour, and even more so by his own as he reached for the balcony doors and pulled them open. 

The Dragon gazed down at him, eyes glowing and scales shining. 

“Hello.” Anthony whispered over the banging on his bedroom door.  
He could hear Rogers yelling at him, but didn’t care to know what he was saying. 

The creature blinked at him.  
It still had the blood stain from yesterday on its face.  
Then it reached its large head down and sniffed his hand. 

Anthony held it out to him, watching in amazement as the pearly white fangs took the bandage delicately and pulled it off. 

Those eyes looked back up at him, wide and clear and Anthony found himself calm and trusting this creature he knew nothing about. 

Bright blue flames gathered in the Dragon’s mouth, almost hypnotic with the way they danced and made its scales look like sapphires.  
Then they streamed out onto his hand, gentle and warm on his skin like sunshine.  
And nothing at all like the destruction Wong had talked of. 

Anthony looked down at his completely healed hand once the Dragon was done.  
He flexed it experimentally, the small flakes of blue glass glittering as they caught the light. 

“Thank you.” 

The Dragon simply bowed its head

The bedroom door began to splinter and crack as the people on the other side tried to break in. 

The Crystal Dragon moved closer to him, moving its head over his hair, ruffling the strands with its breath as it sniffed him.  
It travelled down, sniffing his neck and chest before pushing its head into his groin. 

“Woah! Hey!” Anthony stepped back, feeling its tail curling around him as the creature’s glowing pupils gazed down at him. 

Anthony’s heart beat faster in his chest, his breath coming out in short bursts as the Dragon leaned its head towards his own, its long tongue snaking out of its maw of teeth to lick at his lips. 

Anthony shivered when he felt it slide inside his mouth, a soft moan escaping him, and he opened his mouth wider to accomodate for the long muscle intent on its exploring, rubbing his own tongue against it. 

He felt it begin to slide down his throat and he gagged a little.  
The Dragon seemed to realise his discomfort and pulled away. 

It could have lasted seconds or hours, all Anthony knew was that it didn’t last long enough. 

There was a loud noise of splintering wood as his bedroom door was ripped off of its hinges, and the Dragon quickly took flight, leaving Anthony dazed and unresponsive to Rogers’ questions. 

A swirl of orange sparks burst from the middle of his room and King Howard and Wong both stepped out of it. 

Anthony touched his fingers to his lips.  
As bizarre as that was, it hadn’t felt strange to him in the least. 

It felt more right than any of the kisses he had ever shared with Steve before. 

He pushed Rogers away from him, telling him he was fine. 

 

~ 4 days until the wedding ~

 

“That is not happening!” Anthony yelled. 

His father, Rogers and Wong were all in his room once again, arguing about his safety in case the Dragon decided to pay him another visit today. 

King Howard had ordered guards be posted on his balcony and at the gaping hole in the wall where his door used to be last night and Anthony, quite fed up with everyone being over hysterical about the whole ordeal, had ordered them out of his room so he could actually get some sleep. 

“I am not staying in your room!”

“There is no balcony in my room and I’ll be able to protect you. I don’t understand why you are being so difficult about this.” Rogers said, his arms folded across his chest. 

“The Crystal Dragon is not dangerous! How many times do I have to say it? It’s not going to harm me, it healed me, therefore I should be allowed to stay in my own damn room!”  
“A Dragon is still a Dragon! If you are staying in your room then I will stay here with you!”  
“That is not happening either, Steve!”  
“It will be after the wedding, Tony!”

Anthony threw himself at Rogers, managing to get a few good hits in before King Howard and Wong succeeded in pulling them apart. 

Anthony struggled against his father, “You know why I don’t go by that name anymore!”

Steve ripped himself out of Wong’s grasp, “That Dragon is trying to kill you and you’re more upset about that?!”

King Howard was completely over everyone’s attitudes.  
He looked at his Sorcerer, “Would you like to weigh in on this discussion, Wong?”

“No. You’re doing fine by yourself, my king.” Wong’s hands were clasped behind his back and his face was stoic as usual. 

It must have been King Howard’s look of pure utter murder that caused him to take a step forward, “However, if you would like my opinion...”

“Please.” Howard said firmly, finally letting go of his son. 

“As the Prince stated, the Dragon did indeed heal him and twice the Crystal Dragon has had the chance to harm him and has not done so-“

“He cut his hand open!” Rogers interrupted. 

“Because of you!” Anthony yelled back. 

“QUIET!” Howard roared. 

Wong sighed, “However, he is still a Dragon. And he seems fixated on the Prince for whatever reason.”

Steve shot a smug smile at Anthony, who was almost shaking with how much he was restraining himself from wiping it off his face. 

“I propose the Prince stay in the Sorcerer’s Tower with myself.”

“What?!” Both princes exclaimed at the same time. 

“It’s not going to harm me!”  
“I can take care of that beast!”

Wong ignored both of them, “There is a spare room reserved for apprentices the Prince can use, and there is no way for the Dragon to get into the Tower. If something were to happen, I would be able to send Prince Anthony to safety through the use of a portal.”

King Howard looked relieved that someone here was finally making sense and nodded at the proposed idea. 

Anthony wanted to argue but he kept his mouth shut.  
Staying in the Sorcerer’s Tower was the only solution he had to keep Rogers away from him and, more importantly, the last of the Crystal Dragons. 

As he stepped through the portal into the Tower however, Wong rushed past him with a leather bag pulling books and clothes through numerous smaller portals and shoving them into it. 

“You have to leave. Now.”  
“What? Why?”

Another portal opened and Anthony’s sketchbook fell out of it into Wong’s waiting hand before it too was shoved into the bag.  
Wong held it out to Anthony, who didn’t take it. 

“Because...” Wong shook his head, pressing the bag into Anthony’s chest, “That doesn’t matter now-“

“Tell me!”  
“There is nothing to tell.”  
“Wong-“  
“It’s not possible anymore, anyway.”

Anthony stared at him, “The hell does that even mean?!”

“It means...there was a different future for you should certain circumstances come to pass. But it didn’t work out that way. That’s all.”

“A different future...with the Dragon?”

Wong handed him his sword before opening up a portal to the woods, “That is for you to discover. And should you succeed, maybe you can spare your destinies from the fate you’ve both resigned yourselves to.”

He then touched two fingers to the long silver chain against Anthony’s chest which hadn’t been there a moment ago, muttering under his breath until the links glowed bright orange. When he pulled away, the chain was back to normal. 

“Sundown three days from today I will create a portal for you to come back to the castle. If you have not changed your fates by then, you will be married to the prince of Azule.  
Keep this chain on your person, I will not be able to find your location without it.”

“But...my father-“

“Has agreed to this.” Wong reassured, “Now go.”

Anthony gave him a nod before he stepped through the portal and Wong gave him an encouraging smile as it closed, leaving him staring at where the portal had been before turning and entering the dark foreboding wood. 

 

He heard animals calling out to one another and bushes rustling ominously as he stepped past them while he walked, wondering if it was getting darker or if it was just his eyes playing tricks on him. 

How long had he been walking for?  
Should he call out to it?  
Would he bring something more dangerous than a Dragon to his location?  
Then again, how else was he going to-

A low growl interrupted his thoughts and he stopped dead as another joined it. 

And then another. 

Yellow eyes glinted all around him from the darkness and Anthony took off deeper into the never ending wood. 

There was a howl from behind him as the pack of wolves began their chase, their padded paws sounding like a herd of wild horses right behind him, blocking out everything else in his mind. 

He grabbed hold of a branch in his way and used it to swing and propel himself in a different direction, causing momentary confusion to the pack. 

He probably would have been able to outrun them too, or at the very least lose them, if the ground beneath him hadn’t suddenly dipped and the contents of his bag hadn’t spilled everywhere. 

He quickly drew his sword to defend himself as one of the wolves leapt at him, slicing easily through the creature, its body slumping to the ground. 

Two more attacked and Anthony managed to take them out as well, only noticing the third when it sank its teeth into his arm. 

He yelled out and dropped his sword somewhere in the semi darkness, kicking the creature off of him before it could rip his arm off.  
He backed up against a tree, the wolves forming a ring of yellow eyes that slowly began to close in on him. 

And then they stopped. 

Most likely due to the fact that what Anthony had thought to be a tree to back into wasn’t anything of the sought. 

Glowing blue eyes fixed on the pack and bright blue flames lit up the scene around him. 

The wolves took off immediately and Anthony stared up at the Crystal Dragon he’d been searching for.

And promptly fainted. 

 

~ 3 Days until the wedding ~

 

Anthony woke from his sleep but didn’t open his eyes.  
He’d been having a good dream about the Crystal Dragon saving him from a pack of wolves and it was just getting good. 

He felt a pressure against his groin and instantly pulled away from it. 

Why had Wong let him in?

“Go away, Steve.” 

The responding growl had his eyes opening and meeting the blazing blue of the Crystal Dragon, who was wrapped around him. 

Anthony smiled up at the Dragon, relieved that it hadn’t been Rogers or a dream after all.  
And a little confused that he felt that way about being in a Dragon’s den. 

“Hello.”

The Dragon blinked at him. 

He looked at his arm where the wolf had bitten him, the only sign remaining was his torn blood soaked shirt sleeve. 

The Crystal Dragon watched him calmly as he studied his healed arm before letting it drop back to his side. 

“I’m Prince Anthony by the way...seeming how you’ve healed me twice and had your tongue down my throat, I think we should be on a first name basis, don’t you agree? So, uh, what is your name?”

He didn’t get a response of any kind. 

“We could always choose a name for you. I have some books-“

Anthony’s mind went blank.  
He’d dropped the bag!  
His sketchbook!  
He had to get back there and find them.

The Dragon growled and tilted its head. 

“Books. I had some books with me. I need them.” He said, about to get up. 

The Dragon was having none of it though and pushed him back down with a single paw, knocking the air out of him in the process. 

Try as he might, the Dragon would not lift its paw off him, and after a moment or two of struggling against it, he gave up. 

The Dragon turned its head and Anthony watched it use its tail to drag a small pile of books toward them, the one with the red ribbon hanging from it catching his eye instantly.  
He reached for them as the pile came closer but the Dragon stopped it just out of his reach, pressing its paw a little harder into him. 

He looked up at the creature. 

Was it...had it been worrying about him?  
Even though it had healed him, it had still felt the need to stay by his side. 

Anthony instead reached up to the Dragon, laying his hand against the smooth scales of the Dragon’s cheek over the same place where his blood had been. 

“You saved my life from those wolves. I owe you a debt, one I intend to repay, but I would first like to know the name of the magnificent creature I owe my life too. If I can’t know your real name, would you permit me to find one in those books? One you would be happy with me calling you?”

The Dragon blinked slowly at him, then pushed the books to him fully. 

Anthony grabbed them and the Dragon lifted its paw off him, finally allowing him to stand up and get a good look around the cave the Crystal Dragon called its home. 

There were a rainbow of brightly coloured and glowing jewels in the walls and ceiling, illuminating the cave and making reflections bounce and dance off each other.  
His bag, clothes and sword rested against one wall and a small pile of glittery objects ranging from gold coins and jewellery to shiny pieces of armour and broken pottery rested against another.  
He looked to the cave entrance where warm sunlight was streaming in, almost looking like a barrier to another world. 

Anthony heard the Dragon stand up when he exited the cave and follow him outside.  
He barely got a look around the clearing he found himself in, managing to steal a quick glance at the large lake to the left of the cave, before the creature once again pressed him down into the ground, the pile of books he’d been carrying flying out of his hands. 

“What are you-“

The Dragon covered him with its body, curling its tail and keeping its wings tucked tightly against its sides, a deep growl vibrating through his back. 

Were there other Dragons in these woods?

The ground shook beneath him as something much, much bigger than the Dragon above him landed near them. 

There were other Dragons in these woods. 

Two large, burgundy red, scaley paws with sharp pitch black claws jutting out from the toes came into view, and Anthony knew exactly what kind of Dragon this was. 

It was a Wyvern. 

Wyverns were the only breed of Dragon to eat its own kind and the most hunted for killing and eating humans. 

They had been a main feature in every book he’d read in the castle library. 

The Crystal Dragon growled low and deep, the noise becoming louder the closer the Wyvern came and Anthony kept still and silent. 

The Wyvern replied with a loud snarl, sniffing the air as it stalked around them while sizing up the Crystal Dragon, who hissed and arched its back. 

Suddenly the Wyvern attacked, grabbing the smaller by the back of its neck.  
The Crystal Dragon roared and released a torent of bright blue flames at it, making the other Dragon howl and let go of it. 

The Wyvern had underestimated its prey and gave it one final snort before it took flight with a single beat of its massive wings.  
When it was gone, Anthony was finally allowed out from under the creature’s cover. 

“Are you alright?” He asked, crawling to his feet and checking the creature for any wounds, blood or missing scales. 

The Dragon purred as he ran his hands over its neck and throat, seemingly loving the attention Anthony was giving it. 

Relieved that it hadn’t been injured, he began picking up his books, feeling a push in his side as the Dragon guided him to a nearby apple tree. 

“Woah! Okay! Okay! I’m going!”

He watched as the Dragon rested against the trunk, tucking its legs in and folding its wings back so Anthony could lean into its side comfortably.  
He dropped the pile of books beside him as he did so. 

The first book he read to him was about the planets and stars.  
He rattled off constellations and celestial bodies, looking at the creature whenever he thought one would suit it. 

By the time he was finished, the Dragon had fallen asleep, seemingly uninterested in the human’s ramblings and unfazed by the notion of another attack by the Wyvern. 

He put the book down slowly and picked up his sketchbook, allowing the pencil he kept in the loose spine to slide out into his hand.  
He turned to a new page and began to sketch. 

 

The sun was low and the cool air would make anyone in a shirt with no covering shiver if they weren’t resting against the warm scales of a Dragon.  
He was up to his third sketch when the creature stirred and woke. 

Anthony closed his sketchbook and rested it on the ground, watching the Dragon yawn widely and display its long sharp teeth.  
It looked at him and then at the other two books they had yet to get through. 

“I don’t think we’ll find you a name in these.” Anthony said, taking the top book, “This is a cook book, so unless you want to be named ‘Rabbit Stew’ or ‘Apple Pie’ I think we can give this one a miss.”

Anthony’s stomach grumbled at the mention of Apple Pie and the Dragon looked at him. 

“Apple Pie is delicious and the cooks don’t bake it often enough at the castle. It’s pastry and apple filling and...Why are you looking at me like that? You want me to call you ‘Pie’?”

The Dragon’s tail slapped the book out of his hand and Anthony chuckled, sitting the cookbook on top of the one about the stars before reaching over to the last one. 

“And this one is about plants, flowers and trees. Like this tree here is an apple tree.” He pointed up into the branches of the tree they were sitting under, the Dragon’s head following, “So we can make an apple pie with the fruit.”

He managed to sit the book on the pile before it could be slapped out of his hands by the agitated tail again, but the Dragon whacked the three books with it instead, sending them all flying across the clearing. 

“Ohhh real mature.”

The Dragon snorted, satisfied with itself, before looking back to where the books had been. 

Anthony looked too and saw a familiar cover. 

The Dragon Prince. 

Why had Wong packed this?

Anthony picked up the book, eyeing the tapping tail. 

“This is a good story. It’s about a Dragon named Stephen who saves all these other Dragons and by the end of the story, is crowned as a Prince.”

The Crystal Dragon growled, making Anthony look over at it, “What?”

The same sound, accompanied by a look down at the book then back at the prince, made Anthony realise what the creature was trying to tell him. 

“You want me to read it to you?”

The Dragon just stared at him. 

Anthony opened the book and held it at an angle where the Dragon could look at the illustrations. 

It was a short story, one he hadn’t given much thought to for many years, but as he read it out loud he found himself using the same voices his mother had used when reading it to him all those years ago. 

The Crystal Dragon seemed rather entrained by this. 

“And they lived happily ever after. The end.”

Anthony closed the book and the Dragon grunted at him, pushing his arm. 

“I’m not reading it again.” Anthony chuckled. 

That didn’t seem to be what the Dragon was trying to tell him. 

It nudged his arm again and again until Anthony relented and opened the book, flipping through the pages until they reached one that had a full picture of the main Dragon protagonist with his wings spread out intimidatingly. 

Anthony looked at the Dragon, who was gazing at the picture. 

“Stephen?”

The Dragon held itself up proudly and Anthony couldn’t help but smile. 

“Yeah, it does suit you.”

He placed the story book back on the ground as he felt his sketchbook shift against his hip, making him quickly grab it, “No, this doesn’t have any names it! It’s not one you read, but one you draw in...see?”  
Anthony opened it to the last page where he’d been sketching Stephen, “Its you!”

Stephen drew back a little, watching with wide eyes as Anthony sat the book on his lap and turned the pages, showing him all the sketches within it and telling him about them. 

 

And then he reached where the red ribbon marked. 

Upon both pages were sketches of a beautiful woman with a kind face, long hair and bright eyes that were so similar to his own. 

Anthony hadn’t looked at these for a long time. 

“This is...my...my mother.”

The Dragon’s snout leaned in closer and sniffed the pages gently. Anthony closed the book, wiping at his eyes as he looked down at the stenciled words on the back. 

“It’s all I have left of her.”

Stephen made a curious sound as Anthony ran a thumb over the name the message was addressed to. 

“She used to call me ‘Tony’ and so did everyone else. But when she passed I wanted to keep it as something special between her and myself, so I went back to being called Anthony.”

He looked up at the Dragon, “You can call me Tony if it’s easier for you if you like.”

What was he saying? The Dragon couldn’t speak.

Stephen looked back down at the book before standing rather abruptly and walking to the entrance of the cave where it waited for him. 

Upon picking up the other four books, he followed the Dragon into the cave and to a wall where part of it was jutting out like a shelf. 

They both looked at the five different sized and coloured scales resting on it, the larger one Tony recognised as the scale Steve had given him. 

This was all that was left of Stephen’s family, of the Crystal Dragons.  
Tony bowed his head, looking down at his sketchbook as Stephen growled softly before turning away. 

They were so different, and yet so similar. 

It was as he turned to see what Stephen was doing he focused on the mass of pelts, cloths and clothes in a great mess on the cave floor where he had woken up.  
Getting a better look at them now he recognised some of the insignias and faded emblems and wondered how old the Crystal Dragon had been to have these in its possession.

Many kingdoms these had belonged to were no longer around anymore. 

He watched Stephen sit down amongst the nest after pawing at it, the glowing lights in the cave making the Dragon’s scales appear almost like a rainbow liquid, and curl his tail around himself before looking up at him.  
Tony placed the books on the floor before he stepped into the nest and lay down beside the Dragon as a wing folded over him. 

Tony was lulled to sleep by the warmth of the glowing lights and the rhythmic beating of the Dragon’s heart. 

 

~ 2 Days until the wedding ~

 

Tony had never slept better than last night.  
He’d woken with those large wings wrapped around him, keeping him safe and an old red cloak on him keeping him warm. 

He didn’t know if Stephen had slept, but he was already awake when Tony opened his eyes, pulling his wings away from him and sniffing his hair good morning. 

Tony stood and stretched, going to his bag for a fresh set of clothes while happily realising he hadn’t been face planted into the ground yet. 

He heard the Dragon stand from its nest and he could feel it watching him as he undressed, keeping his back to it while he pulled on a clean shirt and a studded leather doublet. 

“Can you...leave or turn around or something?”

He wanted to change his pants and didn’t exactly feel comfortable being watched by a creature who twice now had had its head in a certain area. 

But when Stephen stalked closer to him, Tony felt a shiver crawl up his spine and wishing he hadn’t said anything as images of that strange kiss flittered through his mind. 

Stephen lingered for a moment longer before leaving the cave. 

Sighing, he quickly changed into his clean pants before Stephen, and that feeling, decided to come back.

 

Tony grabbed his sketchbook and, deciding to leave Wong’s chain behind, walked out of the cave to see the Dragon drinking at the side of the large lake.

He quickly began his sketch of the unsuspecting Stephen, sitting under the same tree as yesterday and having to pull himself back to his sketch half the time when he stared at the Dragon’s beauty for too long. 

He finished the rough sketch, his stomach making him painfully aware that he hadn’t eaten anything since he’d left the castle and that he was sitting under an apple tree he couldn’t climb as it had no lower branches. 

Tony looked back to the lake to find Stephen had wandered off somewhere. 

His gaze drifted to the high snow peaked mountains overlooking the lake.  
Beyond those mountains was even more wood, and then Azule. 

Tony’s empty stomach groaned louder. 

He couldn’t stay here with his new friend, no matter how much he wanted to.  
Wong would bring him back to the castle tomorrow at sundown.  
What was it he had said about changing their fates?  
Was that even possible?  
What fate could have been in store for Stephen that he could change?

Tony jumped a foot in the air when a mangled dead rabbit landed a foot away from him, curtesy of said Dragon. 

“Ummm...thanks?”

Stephen sat back on his haunches and watched him expectantly. 

Tony stared at him before looking back down at the bloody mess of fur and meat. 

“I can’t eat raw meat, it has to be cooked.”

Stephen tilted his head. 

“With fire.”

No sooner had the words left his mouth a small ball of flame erupted out of the Dragon’s onto the ground the carcass was on, burning it to nothing. 

Stephen whined loudly when he realised his kill was still uneatable for the human and Tony gave him a sympathetic look before the sunlight streaming through the branches above him caught his attention. 

Stephen seemed to take notice of what Tony was looking at, eyeing the fruits hanging too high for the human to reach before looking back down at him.  
A sudden gust of wind almost blew Tony over, the Dragon reaching the top of the tree with a single snap of its wings and landing roughly with an entire branch in its jaw, shaking fruit down on Tony’s head as it held it proudly up to him. 

Tony chuckled as he shielded himself, returning to his sketch with a shake of his head. 

A gentle whine made him look back up again. 

Stephen had an apple in his jaws and was extending it out to him.  
As he took it, the apple split in half, Stephen gobbling down his half before laying on the ground and resting his head on Tony’s lap over the sketch he was working on.

Tony ran his hand over the Dragon’s brow as he ate his half, biting off small chunks of apple from his collection and feeding them to Stephen, his long tongue snaking out to retrieve the piece on his palm and lick the sweet juice off his hand in the process. 

“Ok, imagine this but sweeter and softer and wrapped in pastry.”

Stephen’s tail tapped lightly and Tony took it as a sign the Dragon was happy with this imagery. 

“I’ll have to show you how to make an apple pie one day. We’d need to make our own pastry, plus we’d need a way to cook it...”

Stephen lifted his head from his lap and looked over to the black patch of ground where the rabbit had been. 

“An oven. We’ll need an oven. We could always use the one in the castle kitchens.”

Tony grabbed his sketchbook which Stephen had been using as a pillow as he rested his head back down.  
His sketch had survived albeit a little smudged. 

Tony, now full, leaned back against the tree and closed his eyes, Stephen snoring lightly. 

It was perfect weather for nap. 

 

A low rumble disturbed Tony’s rest, his eyes half opening before closing once more. 

Just a little longer. 

A loud crack of lightning had him fully awake instantly.  
Stephen was also awake, standing at the shore of the lake and looking at the approaching storm, his wings fidgeting. 

Stephen then looked around at him as Tony reached for his sketchbook, and, seeming to have come to some sort of decision, raced forward and snatched it, taking off into the cave with it. 

“I need that!” Tony called after him, getting to his feet and pocketing the pencil. 

He’d barely taken a few steps when the ground suddenly shook, making him loose his balance and fall backwards, the massive Wyvern from yesterday snarling down at him. 

He pushed himself away from it, his legs kicking at its head, which was coming closer to him. 

“Back off! Leave me alone!”

The Wyvern wasn’t letting him leave that easy, its large long claws scratching right through the leather doublet and shirt he wore when it snatched at him, snarling viciously. 

“Stephen! Get away from me! Stephen, help!” Tony yelled, getting to his feet only for a huge clawed paw to wrap around him. 

The Crystal Dragon heard him, emerging from its cave as the Wyvern took flight.

“Stephen!” Tony called desperately, reaching for him as he was carried away. 

Stephen instantly went after his human. 

Tony was yelling at the creature and trying to squirm out of the grip that held him. 

“Let me go you oversized lizard!” Tony yelled, beating his fists into the large paw. 

The Wyvern looked down at him and roared angrily.  
Tony took that as a sign to shut up. 

He was suddenly jolted by Stephen having smashed into the Wyvern’s side in an effort to make it let Tony go.  
He watched him dig his claws into its wing, the Wyvern trying to fight back. 

Tony was getting tossed this way and that until Stephen let go and dropped to the leg that held him, his jaws snapping into the ankle.  
The Wyvern roared and released him, making Tony fall onto Stephen’s back as he flew underneath him. 

He slipped a little, managing to grab hold of Stephen’s neck before he fell off completely, feeling the powerful wings beat against his knees as Stephen took off into the storm clouds, lightning flashing against his scales. 

He would’ve enjoyed his first flight on a Dragon if there wasn’t another one flying after them wanting to make them its dinner. 

Stephen twisted and turned sharply, trying to loose their pursuer behind him.  
He suddenly pulled his wings in tight, the Wyvern’s attack just missing them as the two plummeted towards the earth. 

Tony tightened his arms around Stephen’s neck when he felt his body lift into the air. 

A mountainside suddenly came into view and Stephen’s wings snapped open at the last second, the two sailing upwards and past it as the Wyvern crashed into it. 

That only seemed to make it angrier if the loud roar was anything to go by, lifting its body up to give chase once again. 

Stephen beat his strong wings, pulling his legs in closer, and carried Tony and himself up high above the storm clouds into the clear night sky. 

Hovering in silence, they waited and listened to the world around them. 

A crack of lightning here.  
A beat of Stephen’s wings there.  
A slight whistling...

Tony grabbed Stephen by his golden horns and pulled, the Dragon moving back out of the way just as a red fireball went sailing past them. 

Stephen looked up at him, seemingly impressed, Tony tightening his grip on the horns when they took off once more with Tony guiding him out of the way of oncoming attacks while the rain pelted down on them. 

It was no different and completely different to riding a horse, Tony thought, squinting around him through the darkness. 

It was hard to see and even more so to stay on the Dragon’s back, his knees continuously sliding down the wet scales.  
Another fireball caught his eye and Tony managed to pull Stephen out of harms way before it hit his wing. 

“Behind you!” Tony yelled, his voice barley audible over the loud roll of thunder. 

Stephen’s eyes narrowed and he curved his back, Tony holding on for dear life as they arched backwards through the night sky and ended up above the Wyvern, Stephen sinking his fangs into its neck. 

The Wyvern shook them off easily, snapping at the Crystal Dragon and the human upon its back, Stephen using his fire to defend the both of them while Tony struggled to hold onto him and not get bit. 

Stephen cried out when the Wyvern’s fangs locked around his throat, the Crystal Dragon clawing at it in an attempt to fight it off. 

“Get off of him!” Tony yelled, pulling his pencil from his pocket and ramming it into the Wyvern’s eye. 

The Dragon roared, letting Stephen’s throat go only to swipe blindly at him and grab him by the wings in its sharp black talons, pulling him upside down and throwing Tony off of the slippery scales. 

He heard Stephen cry out to him over the wind whistling past his ears, whipping his hair out of his face as he plummeted through the clouds, tumbling and trying to steady himself through his panic.

Stephen snarled, unleashing a jet of blue flames at his enemy and falling from its grasp, diving after Tony and dragging his wings forward in an effort to get to him faster. 

Tony squinted at the body of water rushing to meet him.  
It was the lake.  
He was heading straight for the lake.  
He curled himself into a ball, bracing for the impact that would surely kill him, something grabbing his leather doublet just before he did. 

The massive splash of the Crystal Dragon landing in the lake with him was almost enough to empty it, and Tony emerged to the surface first, alive and breathing and wiping his hair back only for Stephen to emerge a moment later and dump water all over him again. 

They were alive.  
Somehow they were alive!

Tony’s enthusiasm burst out of him in a fit of laughter while Stephen seemed more concerned with sniffing his hair, drying it instantly.  
He nudged Tony’s shoulder until he climbed onto his back once more and swam them to shore, trotting to the cave with his wings curved upward to shield Tony from the rain. 

As they entered the rainbow lit room, Tony slid to the ground and went straight to his bag to find some dry clothes while Stephen lit a small fire that would keep them warm and help Tony dry. 

“That was amazing, Stephen! Well, except for the falling part of course.”

Having found no spare clothes, Tony was over by the nest, peeling off his ruined doublet and searching for something to wear, picking up a blue robe that looked very much like the one Wong wore and deciding it was better than nothing, “You’re a very talented flyer.”

He could feel Stephen’s eyes on him as he pulled off his shirt next, discarding it on top of the doublet when he saw the great rip through it. He had a light scratch on his chest and rubbed at it mindlessly, “Might need to make a special saddle for next time though.”

He felt the Dragon’s breath on his back and he lifted his hand up to him when he felt Stephen rest his head on his shoulder. 

Stephen nudged his cheek and he turned to face him. 

“You saved my life again tonight.” He smiled, “What are we going to do about all these debts I keep racking up with you?”

The Dragon’s eyes were glowing almost as brightly as the fire it had lit, leaning in closer to him as Tony closed his eyes. 

He sighed when he felt that long tongue slide into his mouth and along his own after so long. 

How strange it was for him to have missed this.  
For his body to want this more than anything else.  
This creature more than any other human. 

The Dragon took a step forward and Tony stepped back, feeling the nest underneath his feet before Stephen was pushing him down into it.  
He looked up at the Crystal Dragon as it removed its tongue from his mouth. 

Stephen licked down his chin, travelling down his neck and chest, swirling around his belly button before pressing along his betraying hardness and making Tony bite back a shout, his hands fumbling to pull his pants down his legs. 

The Dragon blinked at him as their eyes met before his breath was stuttering out of him when he felt Stephen lick up his exposed cock, one hand gripping a piece of clothing and the other laying palm up on his forehead. 

Stephen purred, moving his head down a little further between Tony’s legs and making him jump when that tongue pressed eagerly into him. 

The further in, the thicker the muscle became, and Tony was a mess as his hips rocked down on their own accord and his legs fell further open. 

“Don’t stop. Stephen!” Tony’s voice was barely a whispered breath but Stephen heard him, licking deeper into him and making Tony’s back arch. 

Pleasure, unlike anything he had ever known ripped through him, tearing a scream from his lungs. 

Tony was dimly aware of his surroundings, shivers coursing underneath his sweaty skin when Stephen pulled away. 

He felt his muzzle nudge him gently, and Tony allowed himself to be pushed onto his stomach. 

Stephen rubbed his cheek against Tony’s, whining softly when Tony reached back to hold him there. 

He felt the stretch when Stephen started to enter him, his cock much larger and thicker than his tongue and Tony momentarily lost his breath as he dug his nails into a random item of clothing beneath him. 

Stephen’s weight over him kept him in place and a growl rumbled through him, pressing more of his length into Tony until, with a snap of his hips, he was buried in him completely. 

Tony’s eyes were closed tightly, only opening when he felt Stephen shift around him. 

His large crystal wings, which had been straight up in the air, were slowly closing in over him, protecting him like they always did. 

Stephen slowly began thrusting his hips, only moving faster when he felt Tony push back into him and spurred on by the sounds and choked out half sentences spilling from his human’s lips. 

He pushed his tongue into his mouth again and tightened his wings around them, licking down Tony’s throat and feeling his body jolt forward with each hard thrust into him. 

Tony shuddered violently from the over stimulation, forcing another orgasm from him, Stephen removing his tongue from his throat to slide down his chin and collect the drool that Tony hadn’t been able to swallow.

Stephen’s hips suddenly stilled and his fangs snapped over Tony’s shoulder as he released inside of him. 

He bit down a little harder, weary enough to know he could permanently damage or accidentally rip Tony’s arm off if he wasn’t careful. 

Tony’s cry of his new name made him happy. 

He wasn’t alone any more. 

 

~ 1 Day until the wedding ~

 

Tony woke completely exhausted and alone, the red cloak he’d been using as a blanket bundled around him. Next to his head rested a small gold ring with a round aquamarine crystal set into it.  
It was simple and beautiful, and matched Stephen’s eyes perfectly. 

Tony grinned as he slipped the ring over his finger, holding his hand up so the light from the crystals above him sparkled off of it. 

Last night and early morning had been extremely taxing on his body. He ached in places he didn’t know could ache and judging from the golden light streaming in from the cave mouth he’d been asleep all day. 

He didn’t regret it though. 

He didn’t regret giving himself to a Dragon who had shown him more love in a couple of a days than he had ever experienced with Rogers. 

His stomach dropped. 

Tomorrow was his wedding. 

And he hadn’t stopped it from happening. 

He rolled over and got to his feet, starting to pull on his clothes. 

When he was fully dressed he heard Stephen enter the cave. 

He had a branch from the apple tree in his mouth, scattering fruit all over the cave floor. 

And dropped it when he saw Tony was shoving his books into his bag. 

“I’m getting married tomorrow.” Tony said, not looking at him as he fit his sketchbook into the bag, “I have to go back to the castle.”

He didn’t get any form of reply. 

Tony, having managed to fit his sword part way into the bag as well and with it now fully packed, picked it up in one hand while he held his ruined shirt and doublet in the other, dropping them into the nest.  
He didn’t need them anymore. 

He looked at Stephen, who was watching him cautiously. 

“I’ll come visit you.” Tony’s smile faltered, “I promised to show you how to bake an apple pie after all.”

Still, nothing. 

Deciding he didn’t want Wong’s portal to open in Stephen’s home where anyone could come through, Tony pulled the bag over his shoulder, his heart heavy as he walked to the cave mouth and was promptly stopped by the Dragon blocking his way with its body. 

“I can’t live in this cave with you, Stephen! I have to return to the castle!”

He tried to move around him but the Dragon wouldn’t budge. 

“If you were human it would be different but you’re not! Believe me I want to stay with you! I don’t want to marry Rogers but I-“

His words were cut off by Stephen’s tongue forcing its way into his mouth. 

Tony moaned, clutching at the Dragon before managing to push himself away, his eyes stinging. 

He couldn’t stay.  
He wasn’t allowed to stay.  
Why was Stephen making it so difficult?

“I have...to go...” Tony managed between breaths. 

The Crystal Dragon wasn’t happy with his reply, grabbing the leather bag in his fangs and tugging at it. 

“No! Let go of it! Stephen, stop it!”

Tony pulled, trying to free the bag from the Dragon’s grip on it.  
Stephen wasn’t letting it go though and yanked it hard enough to split the leather bag open and make everything scatter all over the cave floor. 

“Great! Now look what you’ve done!”  
Tony glared at the creature, frustrated. 

He reached for the closest book, only for Stephen to whack it further away from him with his tail. 

“Stop it!” Tony yelled. 

Stephen roared at him, pushing him away from his possessions back to the nest, snarling whenever Tony tried to fight him off. 

Tony landed in the pile of clothes, wiping at his eyes angrily. 

“You think I want to leave you? That I want to be married to Rogers? You think I don’t care about you? I don’t have a choice here! And you’re being an asshole about it!” Tony shoved at him, which didn’t do much of anything, “You think you’re the only one who’s feelings matter?” 

Tony got back to his feet, his eyes falling to his sketchbook. 

Stephen noticed it too. 

He managed to snag it first before the Dragon, but that didn’t stop him from grabbing the spine of the sketchbook in his sharp teeth. 

Stephen was growling over Tony’s yells for him to let go and did so as a strange portal opened in his cave.  
Tony was flung back towards it, the sketchbook clasped protectively to his chest as he stood. 

They both stared at the portal in silence; Stephen contemplating whether or not he could make it to the portal first to block Tony from leaving through it, and Tony knowing he would have to leave everything else behind, not just Stephen. 

His heart ached at the narrowed slits for eyes Stephen was watching him with. 

He couldn’t leave their relationship like this. 

“I’ll come visit you.” Tony promised, reaching for the crystal scales on Stephen’s cheek, only for the creature to pull its head away. 

He reached again, but the Dragon wouldn’t let him touch him. 

“Will you at least let me say goodbye to you?” Tony pleaded, reaching toward him once more. 

When his hand brushed his cheek, Stephen’s anger got the best of him and he snapped his jaws at Tony, who quickly withdrew his hand before the Dragon could bite it off. 

Stephen’s angry eyes suddenly became wide at the fear on Tony’s face, his growl becoming a high pitched whine. 

He hadn’t meant to.  
He hadn’t...

He inched a little closer, reaching for the human’s hand now clutched to the sketchbook, only for Tony to step back from him.

Tony looked away from the Dragon to the open portal, his eyes shining wth tears. 

“Goodbye, Stephen.” Tony said softly, walking through the portal. 

Stephen ran at him, but he was too late. 

Tony, and the portal, were gone. 

Stephen paced frantically where Tony had been moments before, sniffing the air and calling out to him. 

But there was no reply. 

He was alone once again. 

And he had made his human fearful of him. 

Stephen howled miserably, curling into his nest and resting his head into the clothing Tony had left behind, closing his eyes. 

He would wait here for however long it took for Tony to return to him. 

 

If he ever did. 

 

~ Day of the wedding ~

 

Tony’s eyes adjusted to the dark room as they opened and he realised it was his own room.  
The sunlight that would usually be streaming in from his balcony doors was having a hard time getting through the thick planks of wood that had been nailed into the walls as a barricade to keep the Crystal Dragon out after his departure just a few days ago. 

He hadn’t taken any notice of them last night when he’d come back. He’d just thrown his sketchbook on his desk and flopped down on his bed with barely a word to Wong or his father. 

His bed felt unusually uncomfortable, and he’d woken in the middle of the night expecting to see rainbow lights and crystal wings above him, freezing cold and searching for a warmth that couldn’t be sewn into blankets or felt in the in the red flames of his fireplace. 

The sound of someone turning a page made his heart drop. 

His sketchbook.  
He hadn’t put it in his desk!

He sat up and instantly saw Rogers, who was leaning casually against the fireplace, looking through it. 

Tony’s stomach turned over as he climbed out of bed, not taking his eyes off of Rogers. 

“You are a talented artist, Anthony. Why didn’t you ever show me any of these?”

Tony took a slow step forward, his eyes fixed on the sketchbook laying peceriously in Steve’s loose grip, “They’re just mindless sketches-“

A loud tearing stopped his words as he watched Rogers rip a page out of the book and throw it into the fire. 

“Didn’t like that one.” Rogers smiled, flipping to another. 

Tony watched the page crumple in on itself, the first sketch he’d drawn of Stephen just visible before it burned away. 

Another loud tear cut through the silence. 

“Stop it!” Tony yelled, taking all of two steps before he froze. 

Rogers was holding the entire book out over the hungry flames, the leather glowing as the tongues seemed to reach higher and higher. 

“Please Steve...ven.” 

Steve didn’t say a word. 

“It’s the only thing I have left of my mother. Please!” Tony held his shaking hand out for the sketchbook, “Please.”

Steve pulled the book back from the fire, both hands holding onto the warm worn leather and Tony breathed a sigh of relief. 

“Its alright, Tony, I understand how much this book means to you.”

Tony’s hand flexed slightly, looking between Rogers and the book he held. 

Steve opened the sketchbook to where the red ribbon marked the pages of Tony’s mother, running a hand over one of them. 

He looked back up at Tony with a smile that didn’t reach his eyes, “I understand.”

And dropped it into the flames. 

“NO!” Tony yelled, trying to fight off Rogers as he grabbed him and dragged him away, watching the sketches of his smiling mother curl and burn. 

Tony was pulled back and he grabbed hold of anything and everything he could get his hands on; tipping over his desk and chair in the process.  
His hand found the draw in his desk and he yanked it out completely before slamming it around into Steve’s face. 

Tony was let go and ran back to the fireplace, grabbing the tongs that had been knocked to the floor in his struggle with Rogers and used them to clasp onto what little remained of the sketchbook, managing to flip the cover over before he was pulled away again and thrown into his desk, snapping off one of the legs and banging the side of his head into a sharp corner. 

His vision blurred, blood trickling down the side of his eye.  
He was shoved roughly onto his back and he didn’t even have time to fight off the fogged vision of Rogers before he’d grabbed his hands and pressed them down into his chest. 

“You lose.”

Tony spat in his face. 

Steve wiped it away, pressing down harder, “Apologise.”

“You’ll get nothing from me!” Tony rasped, “I never wanted to be married to you in the first place!

“That may be true, but you need me.”

“I don’t need you. At all. I have plenty of other allies who-“  
“Who will all side with me once they find out about you and your little...”

Steve grabbed Tony’s collar and yanked it down, smiling at the bite mark visible on Tony’s shoulder. 

“Friend.”

Tony glowered up at him, “He won’t come. He’s much smarter than you give him credit for.”

“Ohh, I think he will. And when he does, I’ll make sure to send him to the rest of his family. His head will be the centrepiece at our wedding.”

Steve leaned down closer and Tony turned his head away only to be forced him to look at him again. 

“I love you, Tony. I love you so much that nothing else matters. Not even your indifference.”

He shoved Tony back into the floor as he climbed off of him, walking past the mannequin wearing Tony’s wedding attire and opening the door before stopping and turning to him.  
“I will see you again shortly. I suggest you get changed and become aquatinted with your room in the meantime. You won’t be leaving it after the wedding.”

Tony got to his feet and ran to the door as Rogers locked it and took the key before closing it behind him.  
“LET ME OUT!” Tony yelled, pounding on the door before picking up the mannequin and throwing it against it to no avail. 

Frantically, he turned to the boards blocking his balcony and tried pulling at them. 

“Come...on! Move!” 

Desperately he began to kick the boards instead, becoming more frustrated with every hit. 

“I have to get out! I have to get back to him! I still have to show him. How. To make. An apple. Pie!”

Tony sobbed as his anger died away and he sank slowly to his knees.  
“I promised!”

The silence around him was broken by the crackling fire, making him remember his sketchbook.  
He crawled over to it, staring defeatedly into the flames before he took the tongs still sitting in the fireplace once more and pulled the shriveled black piece of leather out. 

He stared down at the piece he had managed to save, charred with its curled edges glowing slightly. 

As it cooled, he realised the piece before him was the back cover. 

He picked it up, unrolling the curled leather as small flakes crumbled away at his touch.  
He ran his thumb over the single word of the messsge from his mother that had survived. 

Tony. 

 

Prince Anthony stood in his red and gold attire, gloomily registering his reflection in the tall mirror. 

He placed a hand over the shoulder with Stephen’s bite mark before closing his eyes and letting it drop to his side. 

He hoped he was safe.  
He wished he had been able to change their fates.  
He wished he had stayed. 

There was a knock at the door as it was finally unlocked and opened by none other than King Howard. 

“I didn’t take Prince Rogers to be one for marriage superstitions but none the less.”

He turned from closing the door behind him, “Its time for the-“

Howard stopped his progression into the room. 

Anthony could see his father was looking at the cut he hadn’t had yesterday, saw him look around the room at the still tipped over desk. 

The questions in his eyes were quickly followed up by the only possible answers and King Howard stared at his son.  
Unable to say anything. 

Anthony walked up to him and slotted the leather into his hand. 

Howard stared down at it for a long time, as if trying to register what it was before looking back up him. 

His son didn’t say a word, simply brushed past him out of the room. 

There was no stopping the wedding now.  
There was no way of changing his destiny like he thought he could.  
There was no hope, no sketchbook and no Stephen. 

Anthony walked slowly down the stairs and through the empty castle to the gardens where the ceremony was taking place, the soft music steadily becoming louder as he tried to prolong the inevitable. 

He didn’t look at the guests.  
He didn’t look at Wong or his father who was talking to him.  
He glared at Rogers as he slowly approached him and that smug look on his face. 

All too soon he was at the rose archway where Rogers stood, feeling his hands being taken, and he tried not to jerk them away. 

“I don’t see the Dragon head you promised would be here.” Anthony said in a low voice. 

Steve’s smug look faltered a little as the sermon began, “All in due time.”

His scowl darkened and he looked away. 

It was then he saw something sparkle on his finger. 

Stephen’s ring. 

He was still wearing it. 

He gazed down into the small gem, almost seeing the Dragon’s eyes looking back at him through it and felt some semblance of himself return to him. 

He wouldn’t come...would he?  
Anthony would rather much be married to Rogers than have Stephen put himself in danger on his behalf. 

But what if he did?

Anthony looked at one of the guards stationed around the wedding and the sword by his side. 

He could grab it and defend Stephen with it if he was quick enough. 

The ring on his finger twisted and he quickly pulled his hand away to stop Rogers from removing it. 

He didn’t let go though and Anthony could do nothing without drawing attention as the ring Stephen had given him was taken and placed in Steve’s pocket. 

He could do nothing as a silver ring decorated with rubies and sapphires took its place. 

He could do nothing. 

Only stare at the pocket as if willing the ring to return to him. 

He wasn’t even paying attention to what the priest was saying, only snapping back to attention when he saw Rogers leaning closer to him. 

He looked away from Steve but felt a strong hand on his chin, forcing him to look at him as he drew ever closer. 

He could do nothing. 

Anthony scrunched his eyes shut. 

 

“STOP!”

Anthony’s eyes opened at the strange voice, Steve and himself turning to look down the aisle at the tall man who was standing alone. 

“Tony!”

Tony stared at him. 

He didn’t know this man.  
But he knew that sword hanging from his hip, the ruby pommel sparkling in the afternoon sun.  
He knew the feel of that red cloak over his shoulders. 

“Stephen?” Tony breathed, pulling himself away from Rogers and running to the man he knew to be his Dragon, “Stephen!”

Stephen’s arms opened wide to embrace him, Tony almost knocking him over with the force of his own. 

Human hands held him, one around his waist, one stroking his hair.  
Tony looked up into the human face; a stranger’s face with the glowing blue eyes the same colour as a Crystal Dragon’s fire. 

“You’re here.”  
“I’m here.”  
“You’re human.”  
“I’m human.”

Tony placed his hand on the skin where there had once been scales, “I love you.”

Stephen gently took his hand in his own, kissing the inside of Tony’s wrist, “And I love you a thousand times more.”

Tony felt as if the gentlest of breezes would carry him away. 

“Tony?”

Tony turned to look at his father.  
Howard was looking at him rather carefully. 

“Who is this young man? And how does he know your name?”

Tony looked from his father to Wong.  
Wong smiled at him. 

It suddenly dawned on him what was happening. 

“He saved my life in the woods. I owe him a debt. I owe him my life.”

The guests all at once began murmuring amongst each other.  
They knew the rules of weddings and of debts.  
They also knew nothing of this man who had saved the Prince’s life. 

“That’s not a man, that’s the Crystal Dragon!” Rogers was saying as he too had come over to see what all the fuss was about that had brought his wedding to a standstill. 

Howard cleared his throat, ignoring him and commanding silence to the crowd, “You realise that this means you will marry this man and not Prince Rogers.”

Tony took Stephen’s hand and nodded. 

“I do.”

“Then the marriage between you and Prince-“

“NO!” Steve yelled, ripping his sword from its sheath with one hand while his other grabbed Tony and held the edge to his throat, making all of the guests exclaim in horror at how the Prince of Azule was behaving.  
“I won’t allow it!”

Wong’s fists glowed with orange magic as castle soldiers surrounded them, King Howard holding his hand up to stop anyone from attacking while his son was in danger. 

Rogers knew he wouldn’t win but he wasn’t going down without a fight.  
He’d make them see. 

“Look at his eyes! They’re glowing!” He yelled desperately. 

Stephen drew Tony’s sword from his side, glaring at the human scum who dared threaten his love’s life, “Let. Him. Go.”

Steve backed away, dragging Tony along with him, “He’s coming with me.”

Tony could feel the trickle of blood slide down his neck as the sword pressed deeper into his skin. 

“You can’t kill a Dragon with him in the way.” Stephen advanced slowly, trying not to let his gaze fall to Tony, “You’ve succeeded in killing all of the Crystal Dragons except one. And I’m right here.”

“You’ll not take him from me.”  
“Then stop me.”

Tony was suddenly shoved to the side as Rogers attacked Stephen, who brought Tony’s sword up just in time to defend himself. 

Tony knew Steve’s way of fighting, knew the tricks he relied on to win his battles. 

Stephen didn’t stand a chance. 

He quickly looked to his father.  
At the sword he had yet to draw. 

And with just a look between them, King Howard pulled the sword belt off and tossed it to his son, who caught it easily and unsheathed the golden blade as he ran to help Stephen, getting to him in time to block the deadly swing from Rogers’ second blade Stephen hadn’t seen coming. 

“What are you doing?!” Rogers growled, pulling away from Tony who was standing right in front of the Dragon, “Move!”

Tony didn’t budge an inch, his father’s sword gleaming threateningly in the mid day sun. 

“You. Lose.” Tony smirked, watching the guards grab Steve and force him to the ground, his sword falling from his hand. 

Tony felt faint with relief as Rogers was dragged away back to the castle, yelling over the cheers of the guests, who were thoroughly entertained by the theatrics.

“As I was saying.” Howard said, taking his sword from Tony, “The marriage between you and the Prince of Azule is over.”

Wong then stepped forward and held out two rings in his palm to them, both of which he’d somehow gotten from Rogers. 

Tony took his father’s ring and Stephen took the one he’d given to him just yesterday before they turned to one another.  
Stephen smiled down at him as they exchanged the rings, each fitting the other perfectly.  
Tony then leaned into a kiss to seal their marriage, Stephen’s warm arms holding him close as the guests erupted into applause. 

Maybe it was cliche to think of the ending of the Dragon Prince now he was married to one, but Tony couldn’t help but feel it was fitting. 

Fitting that he, an ordinary prince obsessed with extraordinary creatures, and Stephen, a lonely Crystal Dragon now with the comfort and company of his love, should live happily ever after. 

The end.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for sticking with me and this story, I wouldn’t have been able to get it complete without all of you!
> 
> Come talk to me on tumblr or leave a comment and I’ll reply. 
> 
> I’m working on a few other Ironstrange stories, not just the sequel, so if I get any of those done I’lol be sure to publish them for you guys!
> 
> Love you all!! 💙❤️💛

**Author's Note:**

> I’m working on the next chapter so it should be up relatively soon!  
> Please let me know what you think I hope you enjoy!


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